Love?
by holospartoi258 - Alpha 01
Summary: Inspired by 'One change can make a big difference' by Cotty1996. Hearts... they can be made of glass or diamond. They can break or they can remain unscathed. But they will be tested somehow...
1. Built to Last?

_**Please read this warning:**__ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20__th__ Century Fox._

_Okay, I know what you are thinking. I'm copying the idea of changing in that train scene from Rio from another author, __Cotty1996__. [By the way, if you haven't read it yet, please check out his story; it's great!] Let me say that I've personally consulted him for the permission to use his idea, and now that __he has granted me permission to borrow the idea of transforming the train scen__e, I have written this story. I assure readers that it will completely different from his; I swear it. But I'm afraid I might not get most of the facts correct. I'll have the gist, but the scenes from the movie would be altered._

_Anyways I want to thank all of you for the reception of my story Next to You [-insert lame attempt to publicise a story here-] and I hope to get back to it soon; I'm having a writing block. :( But don't worry; I'll get back to it soon._

_This story, unlike the first, is K+, because I see no reason for it to be unsuitable for younger audience. I really have nothing that is unsuitable… but I'm not sure. It could change in the future._

_So I shall carry on:_

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><p>I've never believed in the prospect of love at first sight- a sensation of attraction to one on first impression if any would only surface deep and over time this 'love' realizes that is has no foundation, no logic, and no reason for existence, thus collapsing in a cloud of dust never to go up again. In short, adolescent love was never built to last.<p>

This is why I anticipated the point, sparked by a significant event or not, where eventually the feelings sparked on meeting Jewel, another Macaw like me, would subside, where my adolescent crush I held for her would be upturned. This was because the cause for this was solely for her external divine appearance, with a face so beautiful that… that was surreal. After realizing that her ulterior motive was to 'escape' and not to 'save the species' [to put it delicately], because after all her response to my unsophisticated and plain looks was definitely not reciprocal, I closeted my 'love' before it became out of control, and decided to maintain a cautious friendship with her.

Of course what I _didn't_ anticipate was this premature infatuation seeping into the control panel of everything I did, and I began to involuntarily exhibit this feeling for her [and thank the stars she was totally oblivious]. I began to ponder over this, and I had these facts: one- it was our fate to be eventual mates anyway; two- Rafael, Nico and Pedro had been egging me on regarding capturing Jewel's crystal heart, so obviously we were a match-made in heaven from a third point of view. The result was that combining these facts together created an anarchical war between sheer logic and fate's adamant design plus Rafael attempting to overcome magnetic repulsion between me and Jewel, and I was totally unsure.

However I discovered that this surface-deep 'love' began to blossom from a closeted seed into something substantial, developing slowly but surely into genuine love for her. I figured the reason was more experience with her character and us going through thick and thin together as chained-together birds… and this went so far as to have the mentality that Jewel possessed the same feelings for me, ascending from a turned-off impression to love. I gathered my evidence- she has been more and more tolerant to me, she had begun to appreciate my intellect of city life, and more importantly the magnetic attraction that rooted from the samba in the club, the complete harmonisation of our waltzing bodies… I then decided that I had to release it from the closet of my chest, because it was our fate to be together…

I could sense the procession that Rafael, Nico and Pedro were trying to create in the atmosphere- the romantic sunset as opportunity to accompany a soothing canary whistle and the drizzle of flower petals. All these signalled a romance heightening, but in all truth I was shaking in my feathers… my hypothesis could only be just a conjecture and I had not fired any darts at the bulls-eye. Besides I was awkward and clumsy and the odds of me having a heart attack of either the tension in me or the rejection of Jewel were astonishingly high. Rafael could sense my total incapability of acting appropriately to the situation, and he prompted me to tell her "you have beautiful eyes". Of which I interpreted incorrectly and omitting the quotation marks to say: "I have beautiful eyes." Jewel gave me a bewildered response, of which I panicked and sought Rafael's golden advice. Although he was still astounded by my sheer stupidity, he told me to 'just go for it'.

"Jewel, I have something to tell you," I declared barely audibly, internally mustering the courage to reveal my innermost feelings for her. She curiously scooted over, anticipating my supposedly-shocking revelation. "What is it Blu?" she asked without looking into my eyes. _This is it, Blu_, I told myself. _No turning back._

"I… We've been exploring Rio for some time already… and I… I've had some thoughts going through me. I… I don't know but I think… I've had unplatonic feelings for you. I… I like you. I like _like_ you."

Her sapphire eyes met mine in a jerk, and she gazed into my eyes as if saying,_ really? _I could picture Rafael, Nico and Pedro in victory, and internally I felt stronger.

I continued undaunted: "To be honest, I've liked you from the very beginning, because… you're gorgeous, Jewel, a glinting diamond, and I… I thought I'd want to tell you, hoping for your response to it, to feel the same way…" My voice trailed off as I awaited Jewel's words, the reassurance that she had reciprocal feelings, and I shut my eyes in anticipation…

…

…

…"I don't."

My eyes jolted open. I stared at Jewel's nonchalant face in disbelief. "W…What was that Jewel?"

"I don't feel the same way for you, Blu. I'm sorry. You didn't have to tell me that anyway; it was painfully obvious you liked me for my looks. I don't… feel that way for you."

I stole a glimpse behind me- all three beaks were wide open in shock, having not anticipated this response from Jewel. "Well…" My mind struggled to find words. "I don't like you just by your looks Jewel. I like you because you've been so nice to me and we've gone through so much…. Besides I never said you should like me back; I was only hoping for it-"

"Blu, you're confused of your feelings." I wanted to declare to her that no, I'm not confused, and I was as sure of my love as the existence of Earth, but I kept quiet. "I've only known you for a day. You can't expect me to fall in love with you instantaneously, do you? Although I like you as a friend, I don't have anything more…"

Every word she spoke was a stab on my crushed soul, shattering my heart into millions of pieces. I could not predict the magnitude of which rejection would shake me- it struck me with much force than expected, and I couldn't hold my ground. However I placed all effort it took to retain a mask of neutral emotions. "Oh," I muttered. It was a dumb answer, but if I decided to pester her… whatever platonic friendship we had would be broken into two.

"But we're still friends, right?" she said brightly, with a smile so beautiful it melted the bits and pieces of my heart.

I tried to smile back, but it was so painful and crooked it was worse than a frown. "Yeah… We're still friends." For the whole journey, I could see Nico and Pedro in tears and sorrowfully lamenting out of Jewel's earshot of her lack of sensibility towards my fragile heart, but in my opinion… she handled it well. She didn't blow up over the matter like any other vixen, even if internally I was being stabbed to death… Rafael looked on sadly and helplessly, wondering why Jewel didn't reciprocate my feelings… and I did too. It was so hard to accept that Jewel doesn't like me anymore than a friend... it added another stomp on my heart.

Rafael tried to console me over this matter, saying it's not the end of the world. I knew that; yet I also knew what Jewel was thinking. She was confident, strong and adamant of her feelings for me. They were platonic. And my gut told me that that wouldn't change for a long time... and here I am. It was as if my occupation now was to win her love... even though fate had designed me to be away from her.

And as Jewel stared at the sun's orangey light dissipate in the distance, I looked away as streams of tears flowed gently from my eyes. It was so stupid- Jewel didn't deserve me. She was a divine beauty… and I should've known… that I wasn't made for her… I should've known… that I was meant to be alone forever... I should've known...

…that love wasn't built to last.

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><p><em>I know you guys are angry at me for a lot of reasons, but please. No flaming; otherwise I'd mete out proper action.<em>

_Yet I know I've crossed the line… sigh. You guys hate me dontcha? This isn't a one-shot, clearly, but if I say I have writer's block for Next to You… I can always turn to this. Anyways I'm in the midst of exams, so expect little from me… sigh._

_And please review! I want third-person views to see how good this is… clearly this is a developing idea, but who knows… sigh._

_DIRECTIONS TO REVIEW: PRESS THE BUTTON BELOW_

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	2. Fork in the Road

**_Please read this warning:_**_ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20th Century Fox._

_Guys… you are the greatest thing that's happened to me. The reception for this story is just awesome… so I thank you._

_Actually I wasn't sure about Jewel rejecting Blu. Some people say I turned her into a jerk while some said it was in character… I dunno. Anyways get ready guys, because I've just strapped you on to a roller coaster of emotions… :)_

**Bane Reiko: Yeah… I sympathise with Blu too. :( And of course it won't end like this… or will it? Anyway I'll have some fluff too, don't worry, and did you just call me a bookworm? O_o Nah, I'm joking, but err… wow. I appreciate that; I thought I would totally murder Jewel, but I hope I can strive on… LOL. :D And… yeah. Some girls are quite mean, but I don't have any experience… =_=**

**alvind-rod: Thank you so much. :) And so I have, sir. LOL.**

**Miss-Madi-13: Yeah I had a feeling you'd say that… look I've explained it already in my PM so I hope you can consider this as I write…**

**ShadeandthePonies: I know, right? ~sniffle~ In all honesty I agree with you; her character development was just… meh. It was rushed, to say the least. But still. I like BluXJewel. :P**

**darkbeatzero: Nope, it's okay. Thanks anyway, but HERE IT IS! RUSHED LIKE A F1 CAR MAN! XDD**

**Cotty1996: I feel his pain, too. :( Anyways you'll have to read on and see… who knows I might just actually keep them apart... :) And I'm a fan too but hey there's gotta be SOME variation… so here's an UPDATE. :D**

**Battleshiplid: Oh carp. Was it that easy to see? Sigh… -_- Anyway thanks for not raging, I was expecting a "WTF MAN?". LOL Anyway sorry to keep you waiting, here you go. =]**

**Blu Wolf 23: I know right? Girls. ~sniffle~ Anyway I hope you know what you're in for. XP**

**storylover789: Yay my story's appreciated! =D Thank you so much. Yeah, it's always nice to change the storyline, provided properly done. And I think I relate better to first-person, it helps reach into people's souls to find out what they're thinking. And I know it's very bad for a fragile heart, but I didn't say hearts won't be dropped, right? And I'll keep that in mind; thanks so much. :]**

**WolfOnFyre: OH CARP A GOD! Urr… urr… thanks! :D I think heavy stories are great, not to mention totally stunning to the audience. And… no; I don't like Jewel rejecting Blu, it hurt me so much that my hand cramped after writing that LOL. Thanks so much; I hope you know what you're in for. :)**

**dracowing14: Obviously not. :P Anyway here's an update for you.**

**Count Doofus: OH CARP ANOTHER GOD! Whew… that's relieving. I thought I'd get flamed like a candle wick. O_O LOL; Anyways I know predictability really sucks, so this is the antithesis. Of course deviation needs to happen more often, but honestly, who has to guts to? X) Anyways thanks.**

**Chrisobi: Maybe, maybe not. You'll have to read to find out. ;) Anyways here's the UPDATE~~**

_So here's the next chapter:_

_P.S. I'M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT THE SPECIFICS IN THE MOVIE_

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><p>~Intermission: Jewel~<p>

I know that I'm supposed to be a gorgeous bird. I've had several birds in Brazil come to try to win my love with multiple acts ranging from the simple flower to complex, elaborate schemes [the latter would be classified as 'stalkers'], but all in vain.

I made it very clear that I want to be alone, free to fly solitary and live my life as it should be. I mean, let's be brutally honest- if someone is infatuated with you but you don't share the same feelings, why should you be entrenched in what someone else thinks of you? If I liked someone [which I highly doubt will occur] but he didn't like me back, then I shouldn't force him to be mine. Otherwise it'll be just disrespectful, to put it delicately.

This is why I'm justified to reject Blu. It's not actually surprising that he likes me; it was actually very obvious, to be honest. And it's natural too, and I don't blame him. But you know: love doesn't work like that [I could imagine Blu doing his best to avoid this complex word], that one day you meet someone and marry him the next day. I've seen several American fairy-tales, and they're disgustingly and totally pretentious; because this is the real world.

In the real world, as I note in strewn Brazilian newspapers, we have marriages that break in an instant, rape cases that ruin the lives of individuals, and even adolescent love drama. I know Blu doesn't _love_ me. He only likes me for the outside, and even if he likes me for who I am, I'm pretty sure he won't do something like sacrifice himself for me. That is true love, which is rare as a sapphire in the sand.

I would be lying, however, if I said that I didn't like Blu. Of course I do, but as a friend, platonically. He's clueless, innocent and gentle. He's not the sort that would try to win my affection by hook or by crook, unlike some morons who decide that because they're too flirtatious for their own good and they are attracted to my outer beauty like a moth to a flame, they convinced they are _allowed_ to do whatever they want, which includes sexual harassment, to my utter horror. Reciprocally I'm convinced that their _un_intelligence quotient is as high as Christ the Redeemer.

I couldn't say the same for Blu, however. He's socially awkward and he can't act properly next to me [of which is to be expected], so I have no ill intentions to him when he declares to me that he likes me un-platonically and requests for my reciprocation. I have rejected _really_ stupid birds and dropped them forty stories from above[metaphorically of course], but as for Blu I reject him calmly and I retain my composure. After about one minute of pursuing this matter [which is understandable] he closes the issue. Of course it'll be cruel of me to break of our friendship likened to a sprout from a seed, and we remain platonic friends like this never occurred.

I've had many people not accept this fact, that I wish to be free of a mate and to be on my own, but for Blu to accept it, it was so peculiar. Of course infatuation is easily broken, but for him to easily break it, it could mean only two things. One: his crush on me is not sincere [this is paradoxical, since infatuation always drives you to pursue reciprocation], or two [and this hypothesis totally bewilders and terrifies me]:

He really does love me.

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><p>~Intermission over: Blu~<p>

I jerk my head upwards to squint at the painted words on the metal frame of the supposed garage door. In bright red paint, it clearly stated: 'Louis' Garage'. Knowing this, and also knowing that Rafael has clearly said he would take us to 'Luiz' [when asked how to spell it, Rafael replied slowly, like an adult to a baby, L-U-I-Z], unless this is a clear joke, Rafael definitely has a hearing slash visual impairment.

"Is this _Luiz's_ Garage?" I asked, emphasizing on the sharp z sound.

"Of course. Don't be too bothered about the sign; it was previously owned by some other guy but Luiz decided to inhabit this abandoned place." Rafael encouraged. It didn't do much to convince me that this was the right place.

"Oh come on, Blu, Rafael knows everybody here! Obviously he would know his good buddy's state of residence," Jewel seconded, and Rafael nodded in response. I sighed; this was the only way out of the chain back to Linda anyways, along with Jewel being free of the burden that is me…

As Nico and Pedro stayed outside and Rafael and Jewel entered, I walked into the garage [albeit reluctantly], the metal chain clinking on the ground with every step. The moment I put my talon in I wanted to run away as far as possible- the place had no proper lighting and was totally empty. A malfunctioning electric device buzzed in the distance, and flies filled the air. The ground was sloppy and slimy, and the worst part was that it was just so eerie- someone was watching us, my hunch told me.

I looked into the air. "Where's Luiz, Rafael?" I asked. There was no sign of him, only the rusty and unstable metal bars hanging over me threatening to drop without warning and squish me into a blueberry pancake.

"He's not in the air, _meu amigo_, trust me," Rafael said. This bewildered me; was he not a bird like us? Why else would Rafael know him? {meu amigo= my friend}

"Then-" But before I could finish my sentence, something ambushed me and Jewel, tackling us to the ground before I could react sans a unified scream from both of us Macaws. Panic flooded me, as I realised that I was pinned down. There was no escape.

But when I looked up at my assailant, it was a bulldog, with his drool oozing from his mouth, and to my shock a pleasant grin across his face. What was he playing at? And where was Luiz?

"GOTCHA!" my assailant exclaimed at a volume that was unnecessarily loud. "Haha! I gotcha didn't I? Whoo you guys looked scared!"

"Wait, what?" I asked in utter confusion.

"Guys, this is Luiz. How're you doing, _meu amigo_?" Rafael explained.

"Rafael!" His enthusiasm was at his peak on sight of the Toucan, and he released his grip on us. "It's been a while! And I'm fine! Just a little lonely; ha-ha.

Jewel examined at Luiz with a quizzical look. "So _this_ is Luiz?" she said rather judgementally, scanning his outward appearance.

Luiz looked offended. "Well, what did you expect, a guppy?"

"No, just not a bulldog either…" she examined the slimy drool that covered her azure feathers. "…a _drooling_ bulldog to say the least."

"Hey… it's a medical condition…" he defended himself, but he shied away, obviously embarrassed to pursue the matter. Ironically however a glob of spit flew right at me. I sighed in exasperation.

"So what brings you here, Rah-fah-ell?" Luiz asked.

"Ah, yes. You see, Luiz, my friends have a problem." Rafael then held up the metal chain that bonded us together. Luiz examined it briefly before making his diagnosis.

"Ah, a metal chain. Well, don't worry. You've come to the right person! I have just the thing!" And he dragged us along to see his solution to the problem.

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><p>I stared in disbelief at the metal saw. Its radius was my height, its serrated edges were as menacing as the sharks in <em>Jaws<em>, and the worst part was, I was totally convinced that I was going to die.

Luiz donned a mask of steel with a small Maxi-glass opening. "Okay, guys," he drilled, his voice muffled by the mask. "Remember, if anything goes horrifically wrong; scream REAL loud, 'kay? I really can't hear you behind this mask-" he knocked against his oh-so-safe mask –"so you're gonna have to scream like you mean it!"

"A-Are you sure t-this is s-s-safe?" I stuttered slowly, trying to weigh the pros and cons of using such a stupidly precarious and precariously stupid approach. Luiz then switched the saw on, and it spun towards us at an incredibly swift rate, with a metal razor sound to accompany it.

Jewel, in contrast, had a more immediate reaction. "YOU'RE CRAZY!" She yelled in terror, part of me nudging me to try to comfort her, but of course I didn't have to guts to do as such.

"What?" Luiz asked, and before we could respond, he edged us closer to where the chain was supposed to precisely be in contact with the spinning saw. It was too late; I clamped my eyes shut and anticipated impact.

Unfortunately, my feet came into contact with something slimy [no prizes for guessing], and I ended up tripping and falling like an utter fool. Jewel screamed in despair as she felt the force of me drag her whole body with me as well, as we both were thrown into the air with tremendous aerodynamic force, and to my utter horror, we were headed straight towards the saw.

By the grace of God, somehow Jewel had missed it completely, whereas only a small section of my head-feathers was chipped off. We were then thrown headfirst into the ground, where I heard the impact of metal and metal, the rushing of paws and in one split second, we were hanging on the edge of the table by Luiz's teeth, almost like a miracle. And the third miracle occurred- a small stream of salivation trickled down the chain to split into two, lubricating the two ends of the chain, and quite easily, both Jewel and I were dropped to the ground, most importantly free of the chain.

To test this, I moved my free leg about. It had no metal slink or any difficulty to spin full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. I laughed softly to myself; I was free. Most importantly, Jewel was free.

"Hey Jewel! We're free! Jewel look-" before I could complete my sentence, the rush of light blue whooshed next to me, and I traced it to find my fellow Macaw fly gracefully in the air, emitting a yell of pure pleasure of being unburdened, to be able to taste the wind and let her feathers ruffle through the breeze.

"I'M FREE!" She yelled, zooming past me once again to somersault airborne before letting some slack, and gravity did its work. Shortly after she regained control of her dominance over the atmosphere and she rose in a steep gradient, performing aerodynamic stunts to experience this exhilaration of which I am phobic of…

As the azure dash zoomed out of the garage, I, Luiz and Rafael followed her out, the latter taking to the sky with her, and following suit were Nico and Pedro. I stared into the night sky, watching the four birds circling the atmosphere as if it were owned under a patent, blocking out the twinkling stars and the pale light of the crescent moon.

"Whoo-whee, Jewel, that's some flying!" Nico exclaimed as her gliding body zoomed past him to somersault once more. I couldn't agree any less, Jewel's flying was phenomenal, to the point where my limited capabilities to learn and improve would never bring me up to her level. It was just not possible… that I would ever be match for such a divine beauty like her… that I would ever be with her, even as a platonic friend, or even meet her again…Who was I kidding anyway? Jewel's answer was so obvious from the beginning, but I was blind. I was blind to see my stupidity, my clumsiness, and all the negativity in my characteristics. I was made to be alone as well…

So I turn around 180 degrees to walk my way back to Linda, where I was designed to belong.

After a while, though, I heard Jewel's heart-melting voice resound from behind me. "Hey, Blu!"

I turned to face her, my heart breaking as I looked into her sapphire eyes, for I won't ever see her again, for I won't ever be like I have fantasized. "What?" I muttered rather indifferently, anticipating something that would grind the pieces of my heart into powder.

"Where're you going?" she asks, secretly hiding her urge to taunt me.

"I'm going home, back to Linda." My tone is matter-of-fact, and very don't-you-already-know-this. "Because, you know, you'd probably be free and go on your own way, so… this is it. The fork in the road."

"Who said I would go out alone? Would I ditch a friend?"

"Well, you've always wanted to be free from the chain, and now that it's gone, you know, you can be on your way. I won't trouble you anymore; we won't be a burden to each other anymore."

"Ok… so I get it. So you think _I'm a burden to you?" _To my utter shock, her voice is suddenly raised and the fury stored in the volcano of her heart erupts. And to my other utter shock, the same happens to me.

An awkward silence ensues, and Rafael stares at us with his pupils shrank. Nico and Pedro have relatively the same expression, of whom the latter breaks the silence by muttering supposedly inaudibly: "AUK-WURD."

"Oh, shut it, Pedro." I order, and he obeys. I turn my attention to Jewel. "And as for you, it's true. _You're_ the reason that I had to be DRAGGED to this dump, _you're_ the reason that I'm stuck with you, and you know what else? _You're_ also the reason why I'm HERE getting my heart broken!"

"Oh YEAH? Who says it's _my_ entire fault? _You're_ ALSO the reason that I was captured, and _you're _the burden here! You can't fly, you can't survive in the jungle for nuts, and _you're_ the one that's just BLINDED by your premature infatuation for me! You know something Blu?" Her voice calms here, but it's still enraged. "I thought we were good friends. I thought that you wouldn't let this get in the way, but looks like I was wrong."

Suddenly a lightning bolt struck me from the blue, and I was knocked out of my senses. It was true… and at that point it all made sense. I was a burden to Jewel, and not the other way around. She was entitled to reject me… and for my heart to be stepped on like that… it was meant to be this way. And it wasn't her fault; it was mine for being so stupid. I internally kicked myself; why must I bring this stupid love issue? I don't even know what it is…

"Forget it," she said, before I could respond. "It was better without you anyway." And she flapped her wings take off in the direction away from me. I wanted to cry out to her to come back, for me to apologise, for our platonic friendship to rebuild again, but the cowardice in me held it back.

"Hey wait!" Rafael called out. "Aiy-yaiy-yaiy, what a tragedy! He is like her Romeo and she is like his Juliet; they were made for each other! Sure they die at the end, but it's a love story come to life!"

As he sighed, I rebutted: "But Rafael, Romeo and Juliet weren't made for each other. They were forbidden to be together."

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><p><em>I hope you're enjoying this; but you know that last bit was too short… sigh. I just want to get it over with, if you know what I mean. LOL.<em>

_Anyways cue the barrage of pitchforks and torches… if you need me I'll be at the review button, so if you want to kill me, hover over it and CLICK. Go:_

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	3. All Hope is Gone?

_**PLEASE READ THIS WARNING:**__ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20__th__ Century Fox._

_Hi guys… sorry for the delay on this chapter. This is gonna be another filler [sigh] but I didn't really know how to place this chapter. When I looked at my title and Storylover General's review, I went to do some research on what 'love' really was… so I Googled it [how original] and I read the Bible [I am a Christian, so you know]… and I came up with this. Sigh…_

**aPauLo17: Urr… I don't know. :/ Gah; was it really THAT obvious?... sigh… **

**Elyahu: Thank you so much. :) But I'm sorry… like I said I don't know a lot of the real scenes in the movie, so I don't really know how to adhere to the movie. Sorry.**

**Storylover Alpha 01: Wow… that was deep. O_O WAY deeper than the crap I'm about to type… ~sniff~ And so true! Anyways here's the next chapter; hope you enjoy it. :P**

**Ted Wakeman: Whew… that's a relief. Like I said I was expecting a barrage of torches and pitchforks. And thank you so much… =,]**

**Blu Wolf 23: Thanks. xD Anyways sorry for the late chapter. Here you go.**

**Zacarais: … No. Haha. Anyways I'm flattered; thank you. I'll try fixing that in the NEXT chapter; so I'm gonna have to wait. In the meantime I hope you enjoy. ;)**

**alvind-rod: So here you go… updated. xP**

_By the way, I tried to make this story more realistic than the movie… so a LOT of scenes will be changed. Also I had a hard time crafting Eva, since she's a minor character in the movie and in this story she has an important cameo… but whatever. Hopefully you guys can accept her._

_P.S. I'M STILL __**VERY**__ CONFUSED ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF THE MOVIE_

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><p>~Intermission: Jewel~<p>

The only thing that filled my heart was enraged rage, fiery fury, and utter hatred for my once-companion Blu. Just thinking of his name just added fuel to the fire, the reason being his distorted perception of me- a burden. I could pin him against a wall and demand him to spill out his guts- how am I supposed to be a burden? My earlier impression of him faded away into nothingness- suddenly I viewed him as a jerk. He blamed me for rejecting him, when I am perfectly entitled to. It didn't make any sense, that such a seemingly nice bird would be so prejudiced because of a simple rejection. It was absurd, ludicrous, stupid, and at that moment I hated Blu; he was just another attention wh0re.

I flapped my wings rapidly in the opposite direction, trying to let the piercing wind pluck the memory off of my feathers and start my life anew. Of course I couldn't- Blu was my only friend for a long time, and it so happened that he was infatuated with me. My mind took me back to envision the sweeter memories that resided at the back of my head, _especially_ the samba back in that club... The way our bodies synchronised effortlessly and adhered to the Brazilian drum-beat… I remembered feeling queer, an indescribable feeling that drew me nearer to him. It was the music, I figured, but to be honest I never really favoured the samba, and I had only obliged to try to be a native around there. But for Blu… it can't be placed in words. It was a magnetic feeling that had absolutely no logic… and to my utter shock a tear began to roll down my face. I wiped it away swiftly, regaining my vision's clarity again.

My keen sense of hearing detected another pair of wings on hot pursuit. _Rafael_, I thought, always sticking up for Blu. Why should he be bothered anyway? He would give me sage advice about romance and all that jazz, but I didn't want to hear it. I was too scared anyway, to hear what I _truly_ felt for Blu- it wasn't infatuation, let alone love, but it was to stay by his side… was it companionship? Or was it something more?

Suddenly a firm pair of claws bound itself around my neck, causing me to squawk in horror and attempt to struggle away from my assailant. As I writhed out of the grasp, my eyes met a pair of faded topaz, mission-set and crazed eyes that belonged to a deranged cockatoo. Nigel; the ba5tard.

He swiftly launched himself at me again, but I swiftly got out of the way. "Stay still you useless pile of feathers!" He yelled in an intimidating fashion.

"It's not healthy talking to mirrors, Nigel!" I shot back. Snarling, he swiftly swiped a wing at me, causing me to lose balance for a while and drop a metre before recovering.

"So where's your _boyfriend_ huh? Deserted you already?" He taunted, and I growled in fury.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" I shouted back, and I stupidly clawed at his face, when I should be trying to get the hell out of here. I paid the price later as he overpowered me, using his body weight to shove me away and he made a stronger bind around my neck again. This time I couldn't escape.

"Whatever," he replied dully, seeing my incapability to writhe away. "I'll have to find him without you, then."

Suddenly I heard two voices getting louder and closer, two familiar voices of which their beholders were stupidly charging at Nigel. I looked up to see a small yellow canary and a round red cardinal trying to save me, to be the heroes.

To my surprise [and I had probably overestimated Nigel's intelligence, which further leads me to conclude that all males are morons] the cockatoo let loose of me to fend off the two, and even though they tried to put up a valiant fight, Nigel's force was too much to handle. I heard the yell of the two birds, the cry of Nigel and subsequent wings striking body. I took a glance back- Nico yelled 'RUN!', Pedro attempted to swoop Nigel, but was instead clawed, three streaks of crimson lining down his face. The sight was too much.

I fled.

* * *

><p>~Intermission over: Blu~<p>

The very instant Jewel took off into the sky I regretted my words. What I had unthinkingly screamed at my crush was only in a flurry of heightened emotions… obviously I wouldn't blame her for rejecting me. It was only logical and natural, and to blame her for that as a burden would be just… terrible, and it made me look like a damned jerk. It was a resounding success. And the worst part was, I couldn't even alter that.

Apparently Rafael, Nico and Pedro have formed a secret agency aimed to make non-existent chemistry between me and Jewel work- it was mutually decided that the red-and-yellow duo chase after the female and Rafael stay to persuade me into chasing after the wind. However I calmly requested for him to fly me up to the top of the _Christ the Redeemer_ Statue. Rafael was astounded, wondering as to how I could possibly wipe Jewel out of my memory like it was only a passing dream. I replied that I only wanted to go up to find Jewel; it would be more practical and I would have to know where she was in order to find her. Of course common sense would have told Rafael that since I couldn't fly [like a damned ostrich] and it would've been impossible to even catch up to her, and also that the vertical distance from the statue to the jungle would've made searching for Jewel utterly futile. But it didn't strike him at all; he obliged.

Rafael stood a distance away as I stood on the edge of the head of Jesus [Linda had always told me that religion was the root of all evil; I regarded the statue with contempt] and I looked over the country, where in contrast to the noir sky the city was filled with bright lights. The supposedly heart-thumping drums resonated through the city, mixed with the incessant jubilant cheering of the citizens. Carnivale; even an expatriate could realise in a day that this was the most eagerly celebrated holiday in the Brazilian calendar, the day of joy and celebration of culture. Now it haunted me as the day that I lost in the game of love… it shamed me, and the veil of moisture on my eyes shattered to form tears that slithered down my face.

Swiping a wing swiftly across my face, my vision cleared up and I looked to the left into the jungle. There was no azure streak that desperately wanted to head in my opposite direction; there was no speck of red or yellow tailing her. There was only a cap of green that shrouded the interior of the jungle. I sniffed; Mother Nature didn't want me at least have a hint of a faint memory of this place. I could only look ahead into the city to see the Carnivale and the Football Stadium and all the hang-gliders… I would not have any of the jungle.

I had come to the peak of the Jesus statue for two reasons. The first was to see the whole Rio, to have a last glimpse of this strange South American place that I found so-called 'love'. The second…

I shot a look back at Rafael, the only friend I had left in this place of terrors- he looked at me with uncertainty, why I stood there looking at the city when I should be searching for Jewel. What he failed to realise is that capturing her heart is like finding a diamond in the sand. It was impossible.

I then looked down directly downwards. The statue was on top a mountain, so it's a safe bet that maybe, just maybe with the odds of the gravitational force being negated by any external…

…No. It would. It would definitely kill me.

Having gathered up all these bitter memories, I inhaled deeply, shut my eyes for the final time, and I jumped off.

I could hear the faint "Blu!" from a familiar Toucan, but it was quickly drowned out by the rushing wind that dragged me up, but not enough to create net force upwards, as I dove to the grounds, to create an impact gigantic enough to kill me. It would be enough, and then my burden-laden soul would drift from this world, just another being that came and went.

I waited for the piercing wind to halt and the crash to occur, but it never did happen.

The knives-like wind abruptly stopped, but I was handled roughly by a pair of talons that pulled me upwards sharply before beginning a gentle descent to the ground. My so-called saviour obviously didn't know what ran through my mind.

As I felt my body greet the ground softly, I heard a pair of wings flutter to settle next to me. I opened my eyes to meet Rafael's. His expression was a mixture of sadness, shock, and anger, but he remained wordless for what seemed like an eternity…

"Why, Blu?" Rafael uttered after a long while. "Why did you do that?"

I looked away. "Why did you save me? I shouldn't even be here anymore."

Rafael squinted. "Why do you say that?"

Anger tinted my expression. "Why can't you see the damned answer_ in front of you_, Rafael?"

A pause ensued, before Rafael finally discovered why I was acting so sorely. It was so obvious, anyway. "Ah… Blu, _meu amigo_, it's not the end of the world! Just because she left doesn't mean-"

I suddenly jerked my head, my eyes burning with fury. "Yes it does! Don't you get it Rafael? I will _never _see her again! It's officially _over_ with me and her!"

Rafael pressed on unfazed by my outburst: "It's not over. You still have a chance, Blu, you have to _believe_ that there's hope!"

I snorted sharply, similar to a bull's when he's enraged. I jerked my head away again. "Forget it," I muttered, too exasperated to be furious. "It's no point arguing. She's given up; I don't see why I shouldn't. All hope is _gone_."

At this point I tried to walk away, but I heard the same flutter of wings and I saw the Toucan in front of me, the same encouraging smile marked on his face. Why was he so adamant about this impossible relationship? It was futile; it wasn't going to get him anywhere.

"Blu," he comforted. "Just because love isn't reciprocated doesn't mean you can't win it… even the most stubborn of hearts will melt eventually. Fate will bring you together again, anyway."

"Bullsh!t," I muttered, and Rafael didn't flinch at my profanity.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that love is just a steep gradient upwards. You're thinking that I don't have the experience. You're wrong for both."

My frown deepened as my brain attempted to scramble the hidden meaning in his sentence… and when I did my eyes widened in shock. "You mean…"

"Yeah. You probably thought my history with Eva was all smooth sailing right?" His expression suddenly blued in sorrow, as he recollected the memories of the past. "It wasn't… when I met her and eventually told her my infatuated feelings, she rejected me too. It broke my heart too. But we remained good friends for a while… although most of the time she kept bringing up that issue. She began to accept me afterwards though… and at one point when she was attacked I came to her rescue. I think that's when… when she began to love me."

I squinted suspiciously. "That sounds really hard to believe."

But before Rafael could retort, I heard a shrill female voice call out from above: "So _there _you are Rah-fah-ell!"

I jerked my head upwards, and as if by some divine power, I caught sight of another Toucan, her beak slightly smaller and with no shade of orange whatsoever, glide below to meet her mate.

"Eva!" Rafael exclaimed as she reached the ground, seeing her rather irritated and enraged expression. "Wh- What are you doing here?"

"_Well_, it's been 12 hours since you left with those two Macaws and _obviously_ I had to check on you lest you- and where is that other Macaw, Ju-ell?"

And so Rafael recounted the more recent events that occurred, or more specifically the rollercoaster of emotions between me and Jewel- my crush on her, her rejection, and the fight in the garage. When Eva learnt of her past being raked up, however, she shot her mate a glare in accusation, but she quickly softened up, turning her attention to me.

"Blu, Rafael is right!" Eva encouraged, using her gentler side of herself. "I admit I thought Rafael was an annoying leech-" she than shot a dirty look at Rafael "-and to a certain extent he _is_-" and after Rafael rolled his eyes she turned to me again. "-But the fact is he would be by my side all the time, sharing my joy when I was happy and my sorrow when I was sad… I knew that he was the one for me. I began to see the good sides of him- his protectiveness, his cheerfulness, and his courage to persist on staying with me-" she then gave Rafael another look, this time a grateful one. "-and… I fell in love with him, simply because cared about me so much..."

Rafael then continued on his mate's behalf: "Blu… you have to persist! If you don't, you definitely won't be able to get her attention… You love her. It's just that you don't know what to do… you just have to persist to be by her side. She'll see the good in you… you just have her interests at heart. You know… see that statue?" –he then pointed to Christo Redento- "The Bible… it says somewhere about love, that 'greater has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.' Of course not literally, but… it's more of putting her before yourself."

I was deep in thought, as I pondered over this testament from Eva and Rafael. To me it sounded terribly irritating for someone to constantly persist to grab your attention… but to be just right next to her? It's not something that should be persisted in… but it was something that you voluntarily did, even if you had to sacrifice your own interests at heart. And suddenly the light dawned on me- all I had to do was to show her I loved her, was to care for unconditionally, was to just be with her always… that was it. She wasn't a burden to me at all… I had to look past that.

I smiled, now that I've understood. "Thank you, Rafael," I said, every word sincere and from the heart.

He smiled back, and he slapped my back with enough force to convey his friendship for me. "That's my boy."

Eva then impatiently interrupted: "I'm sorry Blu, but Rah-fah-ell has to return home. He has to… fulfil his _duty_ as my mate."

Rafael looked at her quizzically, as if questioning what the 'duty' was supposed to be, and suddenly he realised, and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Blu, but… we'll have to part ways from here. I wish you good luck on capturing the girl of your dreams, and I bid you adieu." He said in a goodbye, his eyes veiled with moisture and donning a sweet smile.

I mirrored his expression. "See you another time, then." And as he and his ever-so-loving mate parted from me, disappearing into the distance.

A new confidence in me, I trotted through the dense jungle, as I valiantly attempted to search for Jewel, even though the chances of finding her would be like a diamond in the sand. I would have to at least try to gain her favour back… somehow, the method unknown to me.

Suddenly I spotted a bird in the distance, not moving and not white like Nigel. My curiosity dominating me, I went for a closer look.

And I almost died of fright.

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><p><em>I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger; it'll make sense later on. Anyways I tried to make it deep and stuff… because the next few chapters are gonna be action and other things. I felt weird doing this chapter… gah.<em>

_Anyways please review… -insert corny advertisement to get you to review-… blah blah blah… _

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	4. Nothing Ever Makes Sense

_**PLEASE READ THIS WARNING:**__ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20__th__ Century Fox._

_Yo reader… sigh. I know I take too long with these updates. Just a quick one though, since the original one I planned was just way too long, and even my hands were getting tired from touching this. [That's what she said.]_

**aPAULo17: Thank you very much. And you just deciphered my intentions. :/ Haha.**

**Elyahu: Um… can't they go the **_**human**_** way? Or something? Nah. I don't know. Anyways thank you. :)**

**Blu Wolf 23: Really? Hmmm. When I put Blu and Jewel together I'd probably make you feel bad. ;P Haha; I know you won't take it that way, right? Anyways thanks. :]**

**Storylover Alpha 01: Aw… Thanks so much. Yeah, I'll try to be deeper… or whatever. LOL.**

**Feathers Apart: Thank you so much! So here's an update for ya… please read it… CAREFULLY. xD**

**WolfOnFyre: Thank you very much, good sir. I'd say the same for you too. ;) Anyways I hope to keep that up… sigh…**

So enough chitter-chatter, I'll go on:

_P.S. I'M STILL __**VERY, VERY**__ CONFUSED ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF THE MOVIE_

* * *

><p>~Intermission: Nico~<p>

Call me crazy, moronic or hurl any insult you may want, but the fact is we're that close to being hell-bent to get Blu and Jewel together. Is sounds absurd and a complete waste of time, but the fact is we've seen Blu's subtle [subtle even to Blu himself] love for Jewel. I use love not interchangeably with 'infatuation', either, because what he wanted was to find love. That was why he came to Rio in the first place. We've witnessed Jewel reject Blu, but part of her reaches out to Blu… me and Pedro see that, and that's all that we needed to factor in. We do it for our comrades in Rio, what they want. _Meu amigo_ Pedro and I believe in this, to make love work despite all circumstances. Even if Jewel blatantly has no feelings for Blu and now maybe all hope may be gone… we have to try.

It appears that me and Pedro underestimated Jewel's aerial skills- her pace of flight was almost equivalent to travelling at the speed of sound, or faster even. Fuelled by her desire to fly as far away from here as possible, her flight capability was unmatched by possibly a jet plane, leaving me and Pedro investing all the effort we could possibly possess to catch up to her. To say the least, it was a mean feat. At one point I was tempted to throw in the towel lest I die of exhaustion first.

Of course that was before Nigel, that son of a gun, ambushed Jewel, like he just jolted from nowhere and grabbed Jewel, wringing her around like a rag doll. Obviously she was losing, despite having put up a good fight… Pedro and I had to do something. We had to save her, for her to fly off free for Blu to have his chance. We had to try to defeat Nigel, or at least provide a diversion.

I admit, though, it was a little rash of me [a 'laughably puny' yellow canary] and Pedro [a 'grossly obese' red cardinal] to charge unthinkingly at a mentally unsound cockatoo capable of who-knows-what. You could probably guess what happened next- he loosened his grip on Jewel to fend off 'the little pests'. We were 'pathetically weak', apparently, and we were knocked out easily. But it worked- Jewel flew away until it was a small light-blue speck in the night sky. Nigel, having wasted sufficient time, continued to pursue the prized Spix's Macaw, frustrated at this diversion.

But we were knocked out AIRBORNE. That meant it was a long way down, where with the aid of the acceleration of gravity we plummeted down from a hundred feet in the air…

The impact would be fatal.

X-X-X

I awoke, choking violently on something that tasted like rust-and-salt… when I examined the contents of which I had spluttered out, I knew it. Blood; it spelled my passing… I was on my deathbed. I was shocked, however, that I was still alive and had survived the fall… but not for long. I could feel all my energy being sapped away from me at an alarming rate… I looked at myself. I was abhorrently injured- I couldn't feel my wings or body, and my head was pounding… red patches stained my yellow body, and the worse part- my bottle cap was nowhere to be seen.

Lifting my head an inch, my eyes begun to scour the area for my buddy, Pedro, the one that I went through virtually all my life with, the one who I treasured the most in my life. I saw him- he lay sprawled on the ground, cuts decorating his motionless body. His eyes were closed, and for that moment I knew that they would not open again.

All of my heart threw all blame onto Nigel, that cocky cock of a cockatoo, and that he should land us in such a predicament… but this was life. Where it could be taken from you in an instant with no warning… it was unfair, but it was how it worked. There was nothing you could do…

"NICO! PEDRO!" I heard a familiar voice call in the distance. How coincidental; fate must have helped me awaken to see Blu… for the final time.

As Blu approached and my blurry vision begun to focus, I could see through the slits of my eyes Blu's sorrowful and worry-stricken face. He frantically began to run and save us, lives that were slowly being wasted away and were irredeemable… the fact that I knew I was going to pass all the more ripped my heart into pieces.

He was speechless as he tried to shake Pedro's carcass into life, placing a claw on his chest to sense a heartbeat and in front of his beak to detect any breathing. Absent, he realised. Motionless. Dead.

He turned to me, as my eyes were open and I was visibly alive. "What happened, Nico?" He half-demanded, as a tear slithered down his face.

"N… Nigel…" I stuttered, as my vocal ability was slowly drifting away. It was so melodramatic, and typically not one the situations I'd get into… but this was how deaths often occurred. With someone by your side crying for you and wishing they had died for you, all those soppy moments… they were all emotional.

Blu snarled. "That cocky ba5tard…"

"W-… Where's Rah-fah-ell?" The question struck me, and I was petrified at the thought that the same fate had befell him… he had a family. If he was gone… Eva, that poor Toucan, and all the little ones… they would be without the head of the family.

Blu sniffed. "He left with Eva. He's fine." His tone was flat, emotionless.

"Blu… we managed t-… to lead Jewel away… you-… you have to protect her…" I muttered. I couldn't think of anything else but to save Blu's relationship with Jewel. He had his own life to lead, one that was valuable and one that deserved to prevail… but as for me? I wandered around Rio in my lifetime, sambaing and wasting my life into nothingness and not doing anything worthwhile. My buddy, Pedro, was the only comrade I could truly relate to, the only one my life could be viewed as one of value. And now he was dead- gone forever.

Blu stood there, helpless as he watched Pedro's soulless body on the ground, not to move again, and he saw my life slowly degrading into nothingness. It wasn't fair for him witness death, to the friends that he made over this period of time, to lose his love and his friends…

"Nico…" Blu tried to search for words, but to no avail. We barely knew each other, yet we were so close to each other as friends… the friendship I held for him, it simply drew a dagger into my heart.

"Hey, buddy," I forced a meek smile, as I felt my life's drainage was finally about to finish. "Go ahead. Go do what you like, don't… don't worry about me…"

"Nico… why?" Blu uttered, his face expressionless. "Why did you do that…and go all out to help a stranger like me? Why do you have to die…?"

"Because," I answered, my voice weaker as the seconds ticked by. "You deserve Jewel… you have to get her, _meu amigo_, do it… we're always behind you… _meu amigo_."

"No…" was the last word I heard… before I closed my eyes for the final time.

* * *

><p>~Intermission over: Blu~<p>

Pedro is dead.

Nico is dead.

What would you do when the people you held close to your heart are gone forever? Obviously any sane person would feel sad, as the truth hits him like a gigantic hammer swung from the blue. But… the truth is, when you are slapped in the face, you don't cry as immediately. The initial shock overcomes you, often overwhelming you to the point where your entire body becomes weak, your feet lose the power to stand, and the ability to talk or move is inaccessible. You only stand there, breathing in and out, in and out, in and out…

"Nico," I muttered, trying to get him to awaken, like in those soppy dramas where all the effort you invest in shaking the person's supposed corpse is not wasted when he opens his/her eyes, looks at you and smiles. But I was weak; whatever force I enacted wasn't enough, as Nico's body lightly moved, not even by centimetres, but almost like vibrating.

"Pedro," I muttered, again exhausted, as I went over to Pedro's body to shake him awake, although I knew it was futile. Pedro's body only rocked lightly with every shake, but he did not open those eyes. He never would. And neither would Nico.

Suddenly I felt a hot stream of liquid flow down my cheeks. I wiped them with a wing, but the tears kept coming back, and so I surrendered. I lay down on the ground, face-down, and I sobbed my eyes out. It was the only way for all the emotions in me to erupt in one go; it was simply too overwhelming for me to withhold. The fact that Nico and Pedro were gone, two cheerful lives that were simply dedicated to helping _me _in my trivial matters, died to help me. It made no sense. Nothing ever does. Life and death don't make sense; love and hate don't make sense… so why do we fuss over them like it was like a diamond in the sand? Why isn't there anything that _does_ make sense?

After what was almost an eternity, I got up to my feet. It wasn't fair for Nico and Pedro to get killed by that d-bag Nigel… it was insufferable. I had to at least give them a proper burial; it would be the only way to repay them for what they did to me… but as much as I wanted to, I had no way to dig a hole in the ground by myself. I simply didn't have the strength to bring them to another hole or the sea to place them in… I whimpered lightly.

The least I could do was push them under a tree, where they would be sheltered from any harm, and I covered their carcasses with leaves. Untidily, I scrawled the rather cliché 'R.I.P.' in the mud next to it. They were good birds… they didn't deserve to die. And I couldn't even give a decent burial for all they did for me… no matter how trivial it was, what mattered was it came from the heart. I couldn't repay them, these two strangers who stood by me for no apparent reason… but true friendship.

I whimpered lightly as I remembered the last words of Nico -the only thing I could do right now… was to do what Nico wanted me to do. That was, to win Jewel's heart.

Jewel… the very thought gave me a feeling of so many emotions… the wave hit me, crashing again. The first emotion was… the warm, glowing feeling of infatuation and one that pulled on my heartstrings and plucked them with pleasure and filled me with an indescribably ecstatic feeling… Accompanied with the feeling love were all the memories that I shared with her, all those sweet memories that I shared with her. They were nostalgic, and they were vividly etched into memories to the point that I could visualize them as if they were right in front of my eyes. The way she slept so peacefully on that structure in the jungle, the way she danced with me in the samba club… they filled me with a joy unspeakable.

The second succeeding emotion was a crushing sorrow that broke my heart into shreds and forced the hot tears out of my tired eyes… it was unbearable, but the wave came and crashed, its immense force throwing me off guard. The ways Jewel harshly treated me and rejected me outright… it made me gnash my beak together. The worst part was that I knew it wasn't her fault- it was mine, for being so naïve that love could come so easily… it never comes without gargantuan effort, and it goes with the slightest breeze of the wind… such was love. It could make you smile with contentment and fill you with that warm sensation, or it could throw your heart around like a rag doll and disintegrate it…

But the worst part? It could make you feel both, at the same time.

I looked up into the sky. Jewel must be out there, flying away from this place. Away from me. Who was I kidding? Rio de Janiero is so darn big- there was no way I would find her. What was I thinking in the first place? I must've been out of my mind… the more I pursued her, the more my heart would break and I would be tormented for the rest of my life… it was a vicious cycle that would run for all eternity…

But part of me just _longed_ to be with her. And every part of me was not going to be satisfied until Jewel reciprocated my love. It was a burning desire for the love, the value that I gave, and the devotion that I held for Jewel to be returned. It was something that I craved for… something that drove me to pursue Jewel, even though my heart would be broken, ground into powder. It was a mystical, double-edged power that I could never comprehend… but rather just go with the flow and submit to what it controlled me to do.

Logic told me that pursuing was futile- it would not land me anywhere or gain me anything. Love told me to have a ray of hope. Besides, I had my friends, with me in spirit.

X-X-X

Guided by love, I walked on aimlessly; as my eyes gazed into the distance on the ever-so slim chance I would see a speck of azure streak in the distance. But all I could see were the glittering stars scattered across the noir sky, and all I could hear were the light claw-steps grinding into the ground. My mind started to play tricks on me- as everywhere I could see a familiar blue scratch in my line of vision, raising my hopes for that brief moment before the blue fades away into the blackness, letting my heart drop like a dead bird. It was just a roller coaster of emotions… I cringed. Why did my mind have to be so cruel to me? It didn't make any sense…

Eventually I begun to be used to it, a brief blue flash across the sky, and every time I counted to three, it would disappear. 3... 2... 1... The blackness engulfs the blue. As every second ticked by, another piece of the rock of hope that I held in my heart, that Jewel would appear by fate's design and I could try to capture her heart again, begun to crumble into the dust.

"Blu!" 'Jewel' cried, an imaginary sound in the wing

I shut my eyes again, this time more tightly, and the curves of my mouth withdrew in an animalistic fashion. Oh, why did my subconscious have to be so taunting? Why did I have to incept all these hallucinations about Jewel? Jewel wasn't coming back, not today, or tomorrow, or _ever_. Why did I have to aimlessly wander around and get taunted by my own mind? Rafael was wrong- when you think with your heart your mind would be able to torment you by controlling your senses… it was the center of knowledge, after all, logic. And that was how the world works. The heart… it was how we, the humans, mortals, et cetera thought. Our thinking bases upon what we _feel_, not what we think. The result for me was heartbreak, and a flurry of confusing conflict between me and my mind… it was insufferable.

"Blu!" My mind persisted to bully my heart, and an invisible stab tore through my heart. _Would you shut the hell up?_ I shouted internally.

"Blu!"

"Blu!"

I looked into the air, as a burning heat appeared in my eyes, flaring furiously and indignantly at fate. I didn't deserve to be treated like this. The pain was too much to bear… Why couldn't anybody in this infinitely populated world understand the mental agony I was subject to? Why?

The azure speck remained, this time enlarging in size, tormenting me again. I executed the normal exercise in my head in an attempt to brush off the bright blue colour tainting the night.

3…

2…

1…

And, to my utter shock, the damned blue speck remained in the bloody black sky.

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><p><em>-dramatic music is playing right now-<em>

_Sorry about that; bad cliffhangie. But whatever. Next chapter is full of action, cartoon violence, and did I say poor-quality of writing? I never was good at action scenes. But whatever._

_Anyways I hope you guys don't hate me for killing Nico and Pedro… O_O You would realise the significance of this, sooner or later. I've tried my best to explain it; go ahead and study that part._

_And… I'm looking for two six-letter words… hmmm…. Oh, yeah, right. PLEASE REVIEW!_

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	5. Porque Eu Te Amo

_**PLEASE READ THIS WARNING:**__ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20__th__ Century Fox._

_Hey everyone! So this is a new chapter of Love? But why am I so happy? Because this is going to the climax! The bad news… it's ending. :( Aww… anyways this is your second/third last chapter of the whole story. Get ready, though. Once you reach the climax… you're going to be thrown off your seats. _

**JACarter: Thank you. :) So here's your present! –confetti explosion- NEW CHAPTER! xD**

**Elyahu: Well… that's only PARTIALLY the reason. Hope you don't hate me though. O_O The main reason… you'll figure it out, somehow. It's really deep. Anyways I have a feeling this will be QUITE the deep chapter, though I'm not very sure. –shrugs- Haha. Thank you oh-so-very much! X3**

**tom the dragon: I know right? –sniff- Poor birds. :,( Anyways sorry to keep your waiting. I hope I'll compensate you for the wait- with quality. :O**

**Storylover Alpha 01:Thank you! I'd like to thank… um… nah, I've got nothing. Except maybe this chapter to reward ya. X) Nah, it's the review that counts; it keeps me going to write… somehow. Haha. And I know. That's what I want to do: describe a war between logic and emotion. Heart and mind. And… yeah. I know Character Death shouldn't have BEEN there, but it makes it more REALISTIC. I guess that's the purpose of killing Nico and Pedro- people die. The fact that people live forever is just a fantasy, but this is the real world. :/**

**Zacarais: Yup. That's my intention. ;) All of it. And as for profanity, it's, like I said, to add some verisimilitude into the story. Yup, Nico and Pedro's deaths have some significant effect… one way or another. Look at the above, the one I wrote for Storylover. Hope that helps you. Anyways thanks for all the support you've been giving. :]**

**Ted Wakeman: Turns out I didn't get much. Haha. If people like Qille or KhallieGurl were reading this they'd set my ass on fire. X_X And thank you for all of that, I appreciate that. I'd cheer you up on you being sad, but um… I don't know how. LOL. Anyways hope my risk paid off, and you felt something… genuine in that chappie. But here's another.**

_Whoo that took some time. So here it is:_

_P.S. Did I ever mention I was confused about the specifics of the movie? :/_

* * *

><p>~Jewel~<p>

I'd never thought that I would see Blu again. I wanted to fly far away from here, and I figured by some sort of guesstimation that I had put several meters of space in between us. Ever since Nigel had assaulted me, however, and with the useful diversion that Nico and Pedro provided, it gave me another bird to fly away from as far as possible.

And every time I glanced back, I would see that cockatoo, still hot on my heels.

I couldn't get his angered face, that snarl of fury and the rate of which he flapped his wings, out of my head. That was the only motivation for me at that point to fly forward and away from that obese feathered-freak. But his eyes… they terrified me. They were ablaze in anger with a predatory, malicious look… it tore into my heart, making me paralyzed with shock. Despite this, I flapped my wings as fast as I could, lest I get caught and be restricted of my freedom again…

But when I entered a row of trees, fatigue began to overwhelm me, as my muscles began to struggle to remain airborne and thrust myself forward… I took a glance back, and I could see a sinister grin spread across his face, with no sign of exhaust written on his face, causing my heart to sink. I was on the losing edge. I had tried many attempts to lose him, but all to no avail… and I knew fighting him wouldn't work either. It was an apocalyptic situation. And I was alone. All alone.

Then I saw a familiar blue dot on the ground, far away from me.

At first I thought I was hallucinating, but because of the eventual descent I was making, the details of the blue speck to appear, sharpening the various features of him gradually, until I recognised his face. I was still a great distance away but my vision was sharp. It was Blu.

My eyes widened in shock, as I tried to absorb this fact, that I had ran into Blu again, that he was right here when I needed him most. All the logic in me rejoiced in ecstasy, that I had someone here could fight him off and come to my rescue… but there was a side of me that killed off this joy- Blu wasn't going to help me. I distinctively recalled the statement that went down in history the moment it was spilled out of his beak: _"We won't be a burden to each other anymore."_ And to me it signified a clean break. There was nothing in common between us anymore.

But I was trapped in an impasse. If I moved forward and risk flying over his head I could fail and end up just going closer to him. If I turned back I would get caught by Nigel and just throw my life away. If I turned sideways I would crash into the trees… but then again. It would seem ridiculous that the grudge I bore for Blu superseded the anxiety to keep one's life… I needed his help desperately.

"Blu!" I shrieked, trying to get his attention. He looked, but he did not respond… not a single word uttered. He had truly given up on me as a whole…

"Blu! BLUUU!" My voice was growing increasingly desperate. I turned back to face my oppressor- his sinister, crooked smile was getting more and more evident on his expression, tormenting and intimidating my now-weak heart… and my heart cried out to Blu, to save me from this insane, evil villain.

"BLUUUU!" I yelled at the top of my voice, until it bounced off the canopy of trees and resounded in my ears. This time Blu gave a visible response, as every feather of my body figuratively sighed in relief. His eyes widened, following my gradual descending path of flight.

"Jewel!" He exclaimed, having fully comprehended the situation I was in. But I could not hear him- fatigue had totally overcame me and I had successfully crashed into the ground, a reachable distance between me and Blu.

He helped my muddy body up, but before he could utter a word, Nigel landed. "Oh look what we have here. It's out favourite blue _lovebirds_, here to protect one another." Blu glared at him.

"I won't let you hurt Jewel." He declared, and this caused me to turn my eyes to him in shock. It was that point, when I saw the intense white-hot fury burning in his eyes, as his wing covered me to shroud me… that I realised that he didn't mean those previous words. He… he was protecting me right now, even if it was rather unintelligent to stay and fight when I should be grabbing him to go… it didn't make any sense. Why would he_ want_ to protect me? The answer just evaded me for some mysterious reason…

"Oh so you won't, hmm?" His tone was soft and creepy, with the intention of frightening Blu. He went closer to Blu, his eyes boring into Blu's until his guard cracked. It did eventually; sweat droplets begun forming on his body, and his strong look begun to weaken…

Then with a smirk, he swooped his wing at Blu, with such great force that his whole body fell with him, swinging left and stripping me of my only cover of protection. "Gah!" Blu yelped, as he fell.

At this, when Nigel was distracted on fighting Blu, I proceeded to attack him with my talons [I will not use my beak, thank you very much], scratching him to create a diversion for Blu to retaliate. At first I thought I would've succeeded when I saw Blu slowly rise to his claws, but Nigel again swooped his wing again, the sheer force throwing me off a further distance than Blu.

Flapping his wings, Nigel went over to me and pounced on me, beginning his assault. He placed his talons around my neck, making me defenceless as he begun to cut off my oxygen… I knew what he was doing. He was trying to get me to pass out…

I jerked my head in a twisted angle, then jerking again in the opposite direction, squirming to release his grip on me, but my efforts were futile. He was too powerful. "I didn't know that this would end so easily," he muttered, disgusted at the pathetic effort we put up to fight him as I choked my throat out… there was no escape now… we were too powerless.

Then I felt the grip loosen, as my assailant was charged at, when his guard was let down, by a rather exhausted Blu. "Urgh! Insolent fool!" He groaned as he easily got up on your talons.

"Nigel, I know what you want." Blu said, almost as if he was negotiating with the cockatoo. "You want to capture us."

Nigel snorted, disgusted. "Nenhuma merda, capitão óbvio," he retorted, using Portuguese lingo to insult him stealthily. {Nenhuma merda, capitão óbvio = No sh!t, captain obvious}

I struggled back to my feet, my legs trembling like they were made of jelly. Nigel took notice and a devilish grin spread across his face. "Look at your girlfriend. She's so weak that I… I could just _kill_ her."

The notion of being cruelly murdered repressed any verbal retaliation from me, but Blu snarled in response. "Don't. You. _DARE_."

"Oh I could. But of course I mustn't. I have to capture you, and then bring you to my masters…"

"And this is the part where we, the good guys, stop you," Blu finished, confidently.

The cockatoo scowled. "Do you seriously believe that the garbage in 'fairy tales'" –he used a mocking falsetto for the last two words- "are real? Maybe you should get your cranium checked. I'm more powerful than both of you_ combined_! Do you think you could ever suppress me?"

With an agitated growl, Blu once again thrust himself at Nigel in an attempt to throw him off, but he had anticipated it- he countered it with one single swipe of his wing, that sent Blu flying backwards due to the sheer force.

Nigel's expression turned nonchalant, seeing his prey exhausted and unable to nick a crack on him, his cerulean body now slashed with abrasions and cuts. "No need to answer that, then," Nigel answered himself.

By this point Blu's agro and fury had been replaced with immense hopelessness and gloominess… by the looks of the situation none of us had the strength or power to fight him. His face spoke to throw in the towel and just go with whatever evil scheme he plotted, but that was not what came out of his beak. "D… Don't…" Blu struggled to speak.

Nigel rolled his eyes. "Oh please. I'm not going to kill you or anything. Hope you like being smuggled, though."

But Blu prevailed: "D… Don't t-take… Don't take Jewel w…with you…"

My eyes enlarged at the absurdity of his request- he should be asking himself to escape! Why should he request me, a relatively complete stranger to him, to be free? Why me and not him?

Blu did not take notice of my horrified expression, and his face was full of pleading. Nigel snorted disgustedly in response. "Trying to save your girlfriend? Like I would."

"Blu…" I muttered. He shot me a glimpse, as brief as lightning but nonetheless one that assured me that I… I had the right of freedom. One of which, I realised, was not a right, not even a privilege, but just something that allowed you do what you pleased… it didn't necessarily equate to being positive.

"L… Let Jewel go…and I promise, I'll do what you want. I promise, Nigel…" His voice was losing its energy gradually.

Nigel smirked maliciously. "Why should I? I can just capture the both of you _right now_. What could you possibly give me in exchange for the prized Spix's Macaw, then?"

"Nigel… please…" Blu croaked, but Nigel had no patience for him.

"Shut up! Don't you talk to me about grace! I'm going to fulfil my mission _now_!"

And then, thrusting his weight at Blu as one attack, the Macaw, the one who had accompanied me through this journey, the one who claimed he was infatuated with me, the one who had tried to save me… he shut his eyes, his consciousness slipped away.

And I couldn't remember a single thing from then onwards.

* * *

><p>Coming to the real world is never something you could ever look forward. You wish you could just be in this fantasy world where everything goes as how you want it and love it to be and to be free to dream and free to fly, but that's never real life. Real life is filled with burdens, emotions and sinister things lurking everywhere… you're chained to this place.<p>

When I wake up, I look around me- surrounding me is a padlocked cage, a prison locked with a key. I feel something cold, something oh-so-familiar at the base of my talon, its identity known to me before I laid a single eye on it. The chain was restored, merely two hours after being removed… I was back to the basics.

I looked at the bird sharing this cage and chain with- Blu had regained his consciousness [meaning Nigel truly only wanted us captured, alive] and he had stayed next to my once-limp body, keeping a vigil until I had awakened- once I did his eyes jerked to me and a caring smile spread across his face.

"Jewel," he greeted. "You're awake."

I looked around me- beyond the pattern of wires I could see almost complete darkness enveloping me, sans a small opening on the one of the walls. Via the dim light I could see the stacks of cages containing different types of birds around- they were slider-held, meaning that this cage was probably tailored to suit me and Blu from what happened the other time we were trapped in a slide-held cage. The place was so dark and eerie, with strangers surrounding me- much like the storage house- only this time more compressed and dense. "Where are we?" I queried with my voice hoarse.

"Beats me," Blu answered, heaving an exasperated sigh. His brown eyes dropped. "But I think we're in… _Carnivale_."

I tuned my auditory senses to hear the familiar heavy-drum beat and the cheering of people. It was typical of Carnivale. "I think we are, too."

"But what's the use?" Blu retorted. "When you're in here just listening to the jubilee of people… when you can't even see what is even happening? Why are these people even so happy? You know the reason, I know, but _I_ don't…"

There was a pause of silence, leaving us in deep thought for quite the duration of time. I didn't see that crazy cockatoo anywhere else, or any other bird I could recognise… surrounding me were all strangers, all except… except for Blu. He was the only one here that I could relate to, to pour out my sorrows and doubts to, the only friend that I had here…

Suddenly some part of my mind nudged me and edged me to say; "Where's Rafael, Nico and Pedro?"

Blu exhaled deeply, his glum expression still retained. His eyes were like mirrors, reflecting the dim light from that opening via its glossy surface. "Rafael had to go back to Eva. It's only obligatory, though."

"What about Nico and Pedro?"

Then, I saw a single glimmering tear slithered down his face. He stayed silent, not wishing to answer until after mentally debating with himself, he decided that he had to say it. "They're dead," he stated, his tone matter-of-fact and emotionless.

I gasped, recoiling in the shock… Nico and Pedro, the duo of fun, laughter, peace and joy, the duo that wanted the best for us as strangers, the duo who were innocent and loved the people around them… they were gone? They were gone… forever?

I didn't realise that the above statement was muttered aloud until I heard Blu respond with quiet anger and indignation: "They were killed. By a certain cocky cock of a cockatoo."

I could feel the same hot salty moisture welling up my eyes. How could two innocent birds, the ones who wished for the best and wanted everything to be a-okay… they were dead. No, scratch that, they were cruelly assassinated by a true villain… why did they have to die? Why did they have to die and plucked from this world, a motion so uncalled for it was ridiculous? Then it hit me. The real world operated like that. Nothing in the real world ever goes your way, nothing is ever as it seems, and nothing ever makes sense. I… I had to forget them, even though I knew this was impossible…

Blu exhaled sharply again, and he stared into my eyes with a remorseful expression. "Jewel," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you… Nigel, he was just too strong." –he scowled- "And as for what happened in the garage, I'm sorry that I called you a burden… I-"

"Blu, please," I interrupted. "Don't apologise. You tried to save me, even though I had just yelled at you."

"But it's all my fault!" he exclaimed, gnashing his beak together. "I shouldn't have said all that and made you leave… and then run into that _cock_. It's my fault…"

"It's not all your fault, Blu." I said. "I shouldn't have said all those things either… in fact _I'm_ the burden here. You had to fight for me… and you're here, chained to me again." I lifted my leg, the metal shingle of the chain emphasizing my earlier statement.

He U-turned around the topic, however. "I didn't mean anything I said in that garage, Jewel," he muttered, his tone matter-of-fact. "I never viewed you as a burden to me, not at all. I… I was just heart-broken that was all. But I should've realised something" –one of the corners of his beak jerked up- "that you were too good for me. I should've realised you had… the _right_… to reject to me. I was too pig-headed that was all.

"But for you, if it weren't for me you wouldn't have unsuccessfully escaped from the forest, you wouldn't have been chained to me _twice_ and be stuck to the ground, you wouldn't have to go on this crazy, futile adventure, you wouldn't have someone try to and successfully abduct you, and… and you wouldn't have met a lovesick jerk like me. I was a burden to _you_."

Every word he uttered drove a spear into me- and the worst part was, it was all so true. Even if you shroud your mind with emotion and irrational thinking, logic brings you to light. All my pessimism burst forth and nodded with everything that Blu had said… but my heart chose not to believe it.

Blu growled furiously and abruptly smashed the wall of the cage with one kick of his claw, a metal clang of the wall but it did not collapse. I jumped in fright, not at the sound but at the cold anger that boiled in his eyes. "Hell, why am I so _damn_ stupid? Why couldn't I save you? Why couldn't I be there _for _you instead of pissing you off like some inconsiderate _ass_? Why?" He groaned in frustration.

I stood there in paralysis-cum-terror, watching this emotional spectacle unfold. Blu… he tore himself down because of me. He was raging at _himself_, not me, but it hurt me to see him like this… Suddenly the altercation that had occurred in the garage disappeared, and I started to blame myself as he did to him. He was _dragged_ here, he was chained to me, he was going to be smuggled out of here and out of his comfort zone, and he was forced to swallow everything fate handed to him- this crazy Brazilian city, this crazy cockatoo who hated all of bird-kind, this crazy azure Spix's Macaw whom he loved, and this crazy emotion of love… and heartbreak. He didn't deserve this.

Then the pessimism in me was replaced with optimism- my heart was telling me, shouting, even, to tell me that Blu was not a burden to me, not at all. The way he had so-cordially treated me, a stranger in his chocolate-brown eyes, the way he braced himself for whatever was thrown at him whether it was a cocky cockatoo or a metal chain that linked to an absurd female bird, the way his face lit up in glee whenever I knew he was thinking about me… and the way I reciprocated it, yet repressed it. Now every time I saw him any worry that I harboured was swept away, _especially_ when we were dancing to samba… the way our bodies synchronised with each other made my heart race, and _longed_ for more… it just didn't register in my mind. Then when he fought for me, even if he lost, the way he so furiously tried to defend him and the desperation in his tone when he wanted Nigel to save me… it was a funny feeling. But the only thing on my mind was this: why did he have to do all of this for me?

Rather involuntarily a stream of tears gradually begun to trickle down my face, warm and salty to my tactile and gustatory senses. "Blu, please." I spoke with my voice muffled.

He looked into my eyes again. "I'm sorry, Jewel. I really am; I should've just gone back to Linda and left you alone…"

"Blu," I started. "Why? Why did you have to do all this for me? Why did you have to save me when you were so angry with me? Why, Blu? Why?"

Then he gave me a smile, one so genuine and sweet that it tore me into pieces. "Jewel, I was never mad at you… I was mad at _myself_, rather. I wouldn't be mad at you. I… I had to save you anyways. Who would?"

"But it doesn't explain anything," I pointed out rather ignorantly. "Why would you be so concerned about me? A stranger whom you never really knew… and had your heart shredded into strips? Why would you do such an impossible feat?"

Blu's smile did not waver. "You know, Jewel, I always had this question in my mind. Why did I sacrifice all my interests and give all my devotion to someone I hardly knew? Why did I want to be with someone after she 'broke my heart'? But… after thinking about it, you know why, Jewel?

"Because I love you."

My eyes widened again, as paralysis begun to dominate over me again, the shock electrifyingly surging through the wire-like veins in my body. That smile, that genuine gem of light that bore right through me, that smile… it never ever dropped. It prevailed forever. "I love you, Jewel. That's why I've been sticking by you, why I blame myself for everything, and most importantly why I want to keep pursuing you… I don't care where it'll take me; I just want to do all I can to keep you happy and safe… because I love you."

Logic slapped me upside the head as it blared at me… why had I not perceived this? Why did it evade my mind? It was all so obvious, that he would fight for me, to protect me even though love wasn't reciprocated. He just carried on doing what was in my interest while ignoring all of his, to be right there for me when I needed it and not to blame the other party… that was love. Blu… he loved me. It wasn't just surface-deep infatuation. And suddenly all the pieces started to fall into place, from the point where he admitted his feelings to me to begin. He didn't push to me to what I didn't want to do. He wanted me to be free, to fly solitary and taste the wind, to be alone. When I needed his help, he was there, by some twist of fate, and he guarded me till the end, wanting me to be let off, no less… it was inexplicable at first, but now it all made sense. Because he loved me.

"It doesn't matter if you reciprocate my love, Jewel. I… I don't want to force you into doing anything." He let his face drop to the ground, all his features except his smile drag down as well. He chuckled to himself lightly.

I stood there, rooted to the ground and not uttering a single word. I searched my heart for an answer: did I love him back? It would hurt him even more that right now, even after he had proved to me that he indeed truly and deeply loved me, I rejected him. He was giving me the freedom of choice, but did I seriously reciprocate his affection and devotion was the question here. I dug into the depths into my heart, demanding for an answer…

Blu… he was the nicest bird I ever knew. He was my best friend, the best I had ever met, and the one that offered everything of him- his interests and his heart- to me, a stranger that he had only met and instantaneously fell in love with... He loved me. That was the only thing he could ever offer right now… that his heart. As for me… the only thing I ever gave was heartbreak and rejection, and that… it was almost like a catalyst, for us to realise the realism of life. But now… he didn't care. He just wanted to pursue my love, to be with me whenever I would need him.

But logic, the one that suppressed my heart, the one that told me that told me freedom was what I should desire, that told me that Blu was only a stranger, it told me that I didn't love Blu. That was the only thing that surrounded my thoughts. _You can't be in love with Blu. You can't be…_

And so I remained completely silent to state my rejection wordlessly. I saw Blu right next to me, smiling the whole way through in this prison that restricted us from anything else. I only stood there, frozen, with the one who loved me by my side. I trembled on the spot, not knowing whether I should tell Blu all these mixed feelings that ran through my mind, but he didn't seem to be bothered. Blu mistook it otherwise, thinking I was shivering from the cold rather than from lingering in the initial shock. He wrapped one wing around me, and immediately warmth surrounded my body.

Though I couldn't say the same for my heart, that was burning on the inside...

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><p><em>Next chapter is probably going to be the final showdown. So keep your eyes peeled. This may be a bumpy ride, fellow passengers.<em>

_By the way, if you didn't arm your translator or anything, 'porque eu te amo' means 'because i love you' in Portuguese. ;)_

_This is your captain reminding you to REVIEW THIS CHAPTER. Thank you. X)_

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	6. Forced into an Impasse

_**PLEASE READ THIS WARNING:**__ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20__th__ Century Fox._

_Sorry guys, this ain't completed yet. But I have one more chapter. Just one more and the 7th chapter will mark the end of this story. This isn't the climax, anyways. I'm just as disappoint as you are too._

**CJFANG: Yup. And part of this chapter is based on what you said. ;P Yeah, you have to consider that Blu and Jewel only met for what, 3 days. And besides, Jewel is too caught up in wanting to be free to settle down in love. Haha. Anyways thank you. :D**

**Thund3rstorm27: Um, well yeah, but that could be due to ANYTHING. Not just love. :S**

**Elyahu: They're not together… yet. Just wait, though. Let's see. xP Haha. I don't download illegally or anything; I'm waiting for it to come out on DVD though… but I'll probably finish this story by then. D: Augh.**

**Zacarais: -sniff- Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the morning. ;) Thanks, anyway. And that was my intention, too, to make everything feel so fantasy-like and yet so melodramatic. Yeah, ambivalence will break Jewel down bad, to have your logic and emotion warring with each other… Anyways, no, I don't research love [well I did for an hour, but still] I just write whatever I like. :) **

**Storylover Alpha 01 – Dux Ducis: NO your name is getting harder and harder to write now. :'( LOL. I have this one device, it's called Google Translate, and it translates 95% right. xD And yeah, there's a lot of insecurity in Jewel, all that emotion conflicting with her mind, as with Blu as well. And never mind for a gimpy chapter, haha.**

**Ted Wakeman: Aww… thank you. ^^ And I know, Rio had that human emotion in it, that brought out the sense of reality to the watcher. I honestly thought I would fail miserably, but guess I didn't. ;D Thank you so much, too; gives me strength to type this. And I gladly accept your medal… wow. I truly appreciate that, my friend. Thanks a bunch, really. :] I hope to deliver, too, for you to savour these chapters…**

_Never mind that, let's go._

_P. S. News flash, I am confused of the specifics of the movies. Yeah, I'm surprised too. D:_

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><p>~Blu~<p>

Reading _Twilight_, I figured, was not one of the best ways to learn how to love. Because in that book [which though is captivating, totally ruined the image of vampires for eternity] the main character [Bella, to the ignorant one] was mesmerized by the vampire [Edward], and for what? There was no reason as to why she loved him- probably only because he was mysterious and made her curious to know him, and obviously because he was the most gorgeous creature she ever saw- but honestly, the moment I read the line 'And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with [Edward]' the bewilderment struck me. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why should she fall in love with a vampire, one who probably wanted to kill her, anyway? The book was so pretentious and fictitious that I didn't read anymore books lest I sue Stephenie Meyer.

Of course, love makes no sense whatsoever. Someone once said, 'you can't choose who you love', and at first I was sceptical. Love, I assumed, worked in a black-and-white method: if you love someone there must be some reason why, just like if you're happy there should be a reason why you're emoting with jubilation. For example [and I'm being rather stereotypical here] a woman would fall in love with a guy because he has charisma, character, a six-pack, and enough cash to make a mountain, and as for vice versa it is almost the same reasons. This is not applicable to most women out there, but you see my logic. If there's a reason to love, then you would love. If _p_ then _q_.

My experience with Jewel has proved me otherwise, and it was equivalent to a punch in the face. Why I fell in love with Jewel was unknown to me; it could've been her divine beauty or her mysterious character, but if I passed over that, I realised that there was no reason to love. Then why would I constantly want to be by her side? Why would I constantly try to pursue her even though I knew I wasn't getting anywhere? Why would I love her so… unconditionally and irrevocably?

It was only after I heard that 'greater has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends'. Linda herself was a Christian and I remember seeing that verse somewhere, though my memory doesn't stretch too far. We often quote 1 Corinthians 13 [Love is patient, love is kind, etc.] and we think that is what love is. But what the Bible probably didn't mention was the nitty-gritty details that could only be seen in God and Jesus: unconditional love, meaning that nothing would come in between you and the one, and that you love her/him because… because of nothing. You loved her because you _wanted_ to love her, because you felt compelled that you were the one for her. The one who could protect her, the one who could stay by her no matter what, the one who would always want to make her feel happy forever, the one who would look past any negative trait and love her for all the good qualities she possessed…

I remember Linda buying one copy of Twilight and immediately deeming it completely nonsensical, that it made absolutely no sense at all. But now that I look back, I think Twilight is romantic. I think Twilight tried its best to depict love realistically, that Edward would protect Bella from the evil people that exist and try to do what was best for her, that Edward would sing her lullabies in her bed almost every night, that Edward would hold her in his arms forever and do his best never to anger her in any possible way. When we look at love we look at what love makes us do, not what does make us love. Because for the latter there is only one explanation- love doesn't make any sense, just like Bella falling in love with Edward and Edward falling in love with Bella with no ground of logic or explanation whatsoever.

The same would apply to life, and to everything else that existed, I suppose.

* * *

><p>I felt a ton of bricks slide down my shoulders as I told her I loved her. It was true, that there was a mystic force that drove me to pursue reciprocation, to stay next to her and protect her even if futile, to never leave under any circumstance. The truth was, when Jewel was happy I felt compelled to yell in sheer joy, when Jewel was sad I would stay by her and let her cry on my shoulder as some invisible force crumple my heart, when Jewel was angry I would rise to my talons and stop at nothing to eradicate the source of her anger. Even if it was myself.<p>

I don't know how long we just stood in that cage in silence, as tears slowly trickled down my cheeks and my 17 muscles upheld that smile to assure her that everything was fine. I didn't really bother that Jewel didn't return back my love. Reciprocation wouldn't be the sole driving force for my love to prevail. That was what unconditional love was- to love even if she didn't love back, to love even if she loved another, to love even if … even if she was gone.

To be honest, and at the risk of sounding melodramatic, a surge of melancholy rippled through me the moment I saw Jewel cry. Why would she? It completely puzzled me that she would be sorrowful… but I figured that it was more of the initial shock that was there. And even if she was truly saddened by the fact that she was restricted by someone would stick to her like a leech, then… it didn't matter. Hate is only an emotion, one that was based on logic, unlike love. You truly hated someone because he did something that was despicable or had traits so blaringly negative that you forget all of his positive traits, if anything. God told us to love everyone- now if I hated Jewel for not reciprocating love back to me [which was in the form of some mild resentment I held when she told me she didn't return my 'premature infatuation'] then it would turn me into a cold, heartless ba5tard. Something of which I knew I wasn't. So I followed God's instructions- I would continue to see all the good in her, and then when I did I would continue to love her. Forever, too.

Not a single word was uttered from either of us through the whole time the float was transporting us to the airport. This was it, I told myself. We were being transported to some faraway place and we would be deemed a monetary value, treated like a commodity rather than animals with human-like feelings. This would end in favour of the bad people, but to be honest, I didn't care. As long as Jewel stayed by me, did anything actually matter?

Though I couldn't see anything but cages, the cardboard walls and the bird I loved, I could hear the smugglers conversing. They were celebrating our capture, three gruff voices, and they were fantasizing of their future wealth, and of course about 'the bluebirds'. Obviously we represented significant monetary value, and honestly if we were made of gold instead of flesh and feathers, that value would probably dip. We were victims in the sinister plot of something we couldn't understand- I could feel Jewel's indignation towards them, but I had no choice but to accept my fate. I was chained to my love, locked in a cage I had no idea how to break away from, and I could hardly move a muscle, considering the pathetic fight that I put up against Nigel. But that was life. We all had to accept whatever fate designed us for, to be smuggled out of a strange country you've been shipped into or to fall into the pit of love. Life works in mysterious ways and we couldn't understand how it worked- because like I said, nothing ever makes sense.

"I'm scared, Blu," Jewel muttered, breaking the silence that had been hovering for almost an hour. The bright light from Carnivale had vanished- it was midnight, anyways, and it was a new moon in the sky.

"Don't fear. I'm here," I assured, and she flashed me the most beautiful smile, though it was crooked and almost forced, I had ever laid my eyes on.

Suddenly the float came to a complete halt, and this alerted our attention. The dull thumps of footsteps started to emerge, and they were getting gradually louder as well. It's ironic, sometimes, that that when you're so prepared for something that you feel like you've covered everything, when the moment comes for it occur, your guard immediately dissipates and leaves you screaming for help. This is what occurs currently- an irrational fright ignites and burns in me, a white-hot heat that left my heart beating faster, as our captors drew near. I knew that they were not going to slash our throats or anything too gory for small children, but nevertheless I was afraid. I was afraid, irrationally too, of what terrifying future lay ahead of me. You knew that you couldn't understand it- naturally you would be terrified of what _really_ lay ahead.

A shingle of keys was heard, along with the shifting of tiny gears in a padlock, and with one metallic shriek the hatch opened. Since it was night outside, anyway, I couldn't say I was blinded by the near absence of light. The Brazilian smugglers' pairs of eyes roamed around the small cavern filled with wire prisons containing birds about to be degraded to monetary value.

"We're gonna be rich!" One of the more idiotic minions exclaimed, slapping his hand against the other minion in jubilation. The boss grinned evilly. "We are, boys, we are. Just have to load them on the plane." He suddenly glared at the two. "Now do it," he ordered, and they followed.

My eyes were fixed on Fernando, as he slipped out of his egg costume, hurling it away with moderate contempt. Then he turned to us, his eyes surveying the different types of birds that were being shipped away to who-knows-where. He wore a guilty look, one that asked his own conscience: '_What have I done,'_ one that was helpless, as everything was forced into an impasse. We were going to lose.

Fernando reached into the cage and extricated us from the float, and went to the plane. He sported a determined yet cautious expression, and I knew what he was doing. He glanced back to ensure that the smugglers did not see, and he whispered so soft it was almost inaudible: "I'm going to get you out of this, I promise." Though I knew even if the promise wasn't hollow, I knew that it was impossible to keep. This teenager… he had a greater sense of justice than the smugglers. He was risking everything… for two birds that he didn't have personal connections to, and that he could make a huge fortune from and escape out of the poverty cycle that he was entrenched in… it made no sense.

When he realised the smugglers approaching [smiling, even, and having not heard what Fernando had said] he quickly loaded us into the plane so the adults wouldn't suspect anything. "Careful, boy," the leader warned. "That's prized property."

"Boss," one of the minions brought up. "Can we bring him too? He-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the boss roared in laughter. "Of course not! He'll be staying _here_."

The minions and Fernando donned shocked expressions. "But, sir-" Fernando chirped up, but the boss shot him a glare, silencing him. "Look, _boy_," –he spat the last word- "We're smugglers, not charity workers. We no longer _need_ you." And he turned his back on them, marching towards the plane now that everything was loaded on.

His two followers' eyes whipped back and forth from the leaving body of his boss to the quivering body with a face that marked disbelief, and back again. _"Desculpe,"_ they muttered in unison, before they disappeared as well, and the hatch begun to shut, almost like in slow motion. I saw Fernando frozen, now out of options as to how to save us, as the metal door begun to enclose us from him. Then, I saw the agony from his face melt and morph into liquid determination, as he jumped into the plane's cargo area before the hatch reached the end of its journey, resounding with an eerie metallic clang. Fernando panted in and out, his musky and sweaty odour emitting from his body. As I saw the door close behind us, with me and Jewel imprisoned in a wire prison, I knew that there was no more turning back. This was how life was- being forced to walk forward with no option of turning behind. Now we had truly been forced into an impasse- I couldn't do anything to get out of this cage. Fernando was going to find a way to release us- how? Linda is not going to come- any hope that I held for that had been relinquished- and we were going to be _airborne_. There is simply no way we would get out of this… this was how life was. It would stop at nothing to torture you, and you had to live with it. {Desculpe = sorry}

But when I looked into the eyes of Jewel, her beautiful sapphire pools, any anxiety or resentment I had evaporated, replaced with hope and assurance for the future. I loved her, and that spurred me to do anything, even live life no matter how many times it knocks me out. How I would survive, I already knew- it was with Jewel. The fact that she was my friend, at the very least, spurred me on the protect her and I would stop at nothing to ensure that she smiles another time. That was how I wanted my life to be. You couldn't control the event, but you could control the response. And most of all, you knew that by your side, though you couldn't control who, would be the one that you loved.

The heard the pop of the engine, signifying the resurrection of the motion of the propellers. Then the slow motion of the vehicle, almost unnoticeable at first, but overtime I felt myself being propelled forward, gradually getting faster, until I felt myself being lifted off the ground and airborne. This was it, I told myself. There was no turning back the clock now.

Meanwhile Fernando rummaged through his pockets until he extricated one sole wire. He then inserted it into the lock of the cage that imprisoned me and Jewel, swiftly jerking it in every direction until I distinct clink was heard and he removed the lock and opened the hatch. He lifted us up from the cage and placed us aside, as he smoothly flowed down the rows of cages of birds. For every cage door that clanged open, a bird flew out yelling in ecstasy of being free, flying around wildly as if to celebrate their freedom.

I gazed at Fernando in admiration. He possessed such great courage; risking getting caught by the smugglers as well as losing his life just to save innocent birds, an action that would definitely not benefit him. But the fact is that it was time to end this fairytale.

Jewel stared at me with immense concern. "How're we going to get out of this? If we jump out we'll die…"

I smiled reassuringly again. "Don't worry. The chain will be free with Fernando's picklock."

"But you can't fly…"

I frowned and squinted- this was something I hadn't anticipated, now that Fernando was trying to free all of us… How was I to survive? But then, my heart slapped me upside the head- it was obvious. I had to overcome my fear of flight, and this pessimism that I harboured regarding spreading my wings to take flight… because I didn't want to be without Jewel. She was the one I loved, after all, and I wanted to be by her side… if there was a way to evade death, then I would gladly take it, passing over any doubt or concern attached to it.

Thus I said with great determination: "I have to fly."

The worry marked in her expression did not waver, but inside of her she already knew that that was the only way to ensure that I remained alive. I was forced to do it… but to be honest, this was probably the only thing I was relieved I was forced to do. I could conquer my fear and gain courage, and prove to Jewel that I would do anything to make sure I stood by her side, protecting her and my company bringing some sort of joy to her. To think of her lose her only companion at this stage… I was certain it would break her heart into pieces.

The moment the last bird was released, Fernando rushed to pull a lever that opened the hatch. At that all the birds' eyes was diverted to the door, revealing the pitch-black night that shrouded Rio, their ticket to freedom. But I caught sight of the door opposite the hatch- the door leading the pilot's quarters, where a pair of furious and ablaze eyes glared through, and the door dully thumped against the obstruction of cages blocking the exit. I gulped at the fury that was imprinted in his eyes; but later ignored it, as a huge draft blew backwards as a mass exodus of birds was sparked. A huge cloud of feathered beings drifted across the sky, a colourful blanket fluttering across the atmosphere, a cry of happiness and freedom yelled in one messy squawk across the city.

Remaining in the plane was Fernando, me and Jewel. Fernando gazed ahead, smiling that he had committed a magnificently just deed. I, too, stared ahead, wondering if I would actually manage to thrust myself airborne… it seemed impossible, yet I knew that once I had Jewel… I could accomplish it. My heart cheered me on.

Jewel smiled at me. "You can do it, Blu. I'm sure you can." And those words… they were the only words I ever needed to fuel me, to push me forward to accomplish this impossible feat. I reciprocated her smile. "I can _with you_," I added, and her smile dissipated… she was still touchy about that. But to me it didn't matter… because who needs reciprocation to do what you want? I would do anything for her, in any situation, at any point of time. Even if I was forced into an impasse, I would continue to be with her… that was unconditional love, wasn't it? To do anything for her and stay by her…

Fernando then turned his attention on us, flustered that probably he had overlooked the fact that I had no flight capabilities… yet. "_Merda_," he muttered, as he attempted to pick the lock of the chain that bound us, this time taking less time than expected, as he was flustered and kept missing the correct gear… when fear and frustration take over bravery, your efficiency level drops as well. {Merda = Sh!t}

In the end he never did unlock the chain.

Before he could, Nigel [that cocky cock of a cockatoo] thrust his weight upon the teenager, throwing him off guard and against the wall, the wire lost into nothingness. "_Babaca!_" Nigel exclaimed, engaging in a tussle with the teenager by attempting to claw his eyes out. {Babaca = A55hole}

"Gah!" Fernando yelled, and he struggled to pry the deranged cockatoo away from his face, wings flapping in a flurry to agitate him. Nigel's eyes, like the leader smuggler's eyes, blazed like a wildfire with rage, but it was a different sort of rage. It didn't consist of pure fury, but it was a mixture of infuriation… and a daze. Not a sleepy daze, but a powerful, uncontrollable insanity that seemed to control every action he executed… a surge of electricity shocked me the moment I saw him. Jewel gave a similar response.

"Fernando!" Jewel exclaimed, wanting to fly forward to bring Nigel off, but we were helpless, as we watched this tussle between bird and human. I knew there was nothing I could do about it… we were forced into an impasse.

There are several reasons why it was pointless to fight Nigel:

1. Jewel and I were chained. It's more than likely that we'd be too tangled to try and fight back.  
>2. I couldn't even fly. No matter how much my heart willed for it, I knew there was no getting airborne without some kind of thrust.<br>3. Nigel was way too strong for us, as seen in our previous battle.  
>4. One moment we saw Fernando's swaggering body break free from the deranged bird, and the next we saw him disappear behind the hatch floor, the force thrusting him out the plane and into the ocean.<p>

It was too late from the beginning, anyway.

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><p><em>Now I know you all are shaking your fist at me for killing off Fernando… after a one-time use. But honestly, that's life. You have to be brave, not knowing what's ahead, even if death is just one inch away from you. Same with love- you don't know what it is, but what matters is what you do when you're in love… <em>

_Ending's coming, ending's coming! I'm so excited; my fingers are quivering as I type... _

_Please review this… it's like fuelling the fire. :P_

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	7. The Real World

_**PLEASE READ THIS WARNING:**__ I do not own Rio, Jewel, or any character or theme used in the Rio film. They belong solely to Blue Sky Films and 20__th__ Century Fox._

_Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the final chapter of Love? It's been bled out with no access to actual Rio movie [though the DVD comes out tomorrow XD]and worth an hour's Googling on love and millions of gallons of heart juices. Hopefully you all will like it; it's almost seven thousands words, my longest yet._

_I will not be dead, though, and I'll go focus solely on Next to You. But for this story, this marks the end of a great philosophical story on love._

**To everybody: Thank you all for all the great stuff you said, though yes, I SHOULD stop killing everybody. Yeah. :/ Anyways I know the extent of philosophy laden in this story, and I've taken a lot of thought into what you all have said, the blend of 'logic and emotion' and all these 'connections' and 'plot lines'. I appreciate everything you all have done for supporting me through these tough times; you won't believe how much I've cried over this story. So thank you. Sincerely.**

_I won't talk any further except:_

_P.S. I bet you didn't expect this… I'm confused of the specifics of the movie. I probably won't, though, once I get the movie._

_P.S.S. I highly suggest you having **'Sia- My Love'** in the background. It brings the mood. :)_

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><p>~Jewel~<p>

Love and hate coexist- everybody knows that. What nobody knows is they don't really know their boundaries. You could love a person so much and swear you'd die for him or swoon that you'd do anything for him, and the next day just hate his guts and stop at nothing to torture him perpetually for something he did. Similarly you could hate a person for everything he lived for and hold a grudge for him, but the next moment love him simply because all the negativity was false, and in fact he cared, loved, stood by and protected you. That's the power of love. Oh, and hate, of course.

The same applied to life and death. One moment you could be living, minding your own business, trying to achieve something and help somebody, all in the name of love, and next moment death's hand smacks you down, just like a fly swat, and you wouldn't even know what hit you. It makes no sense, though, that two forces could intersect with each other so easily, warring with one another… and the worst part was, you'd never know when or where exactly which of the two would dominate- there was no winner, in the end.

Life lingers and drags on for what could be an eternity. Imagine yourself like this- nobody to love you, all by yourself out there, entrenched in a vicious cycle that dragged you down, no purpose in life. When you look back you realise that such a situation, frankly, is disturbing, to be completely solitary with nobody to be by your side to protect you, or have a shoulder to cry on, when you have nobody to love you… life would be completely futile to live.

So I knew why Fernando was doing this. The fact is, from the moment Fernando jumped into the plane, he knew he was sealing his own fate. He had no other reason why he should live- if he dissolved without a trace, let's be frank, would the real world even care? Who would know if he disappeared from the face of the Earth? Sometimes when we're less than nothing in this world, we try to make our mark, by doing something out of love. We want to do something justified and for the sake of somebody else, to feel like you've made a better part of their lives and removed their sorrow, even just a tiny fragment of it. And life rewards us with untimely death.

Nigel is a _babaca_. It's needless to say how truly evil and sinister he is- the moment I looked into his eyes, I knew that his mentality was warped. The blaze in his eyes said it all- eyes, after all, were the windows of the heart, and I knew that somehow he wasn't going to conform with whatever his masters commanded him to do. When some external force is controlling your fate and destiny, the natural reaction was, obviously, to rebel against it.

This is why I'm partially unsurprised that Nigel flies in and assaults Fernando physically. Or at least, that's what my mind told me, that I shouldn't feel surprise because there was no foundation for it to be built on, but that's not the case. You heart hopes on something baseless, too, that tells you that something unreal would happen and something inevitable would never occur, only because you hope and desire for it to be like that. So my actually feelings were of utter shock and stupefaction, and it caught me off guard. Murphy's Law states that if anything that could go wrong, meaning if someone could totally ignore your own feelings or someone is vulnerable enough to die, then they will. You think that it's only a blind spot that is almost invisible, but the fact is that life is enough to screw you over like that. One moment you're about to save many birds and feel the contentment of doing a great deed, and the next get pushed over by a mentally unstable cockatoo to your death.

Life is unfair. No, any idiot could say that; life is blisteringly unfair, to the point that it could take everything you planned for and your heart and guide you down its desired path, to mislead you and think everything was ok, and suddenly turn the tables on you and suddenly you're checkmated. But that was the real world, and that is a harsh fact that is unacceptable, that someone is controlling us and there's nothing we could do about it… not like Nigel, who had the liberty to break free from it. There is never any freedom in life, or even in death.

An ear-piercing scream resounds in the plane when Fernando falls off the plane, killed by Nigel. It's a familiar shrill, yet one that is so loud that it hurts my eardrums, and it takes what could have been an hour, though it was a five-second scream of horror, to realise it's coming from my throat. My vision is unclear, enveloped by a shroud of tears that won't allow me to see my surroundings, the villain and my… my closest friend. I can't see everybody's expressions, my own sadness working against me, and my mind yells at my vocal chords to halt. But it doesn't stop the tidal wave of sorrow from crashing upon me, washing me away with no sense of control but rather _being_ controlled by my emotions. No freedom ever exists in life.

I know it's exaggerated and melodramatic, but my emotions are all in control of me. I glare at Nigel, suddenly with a vengeance, after what seemed like a geologic age, my face tear-stricken. "You animal," I said through my teeth.

I could see Nigel's smug arrogance, one that wanted me to tie him to a stick and roast him alive, that announced him the victor and that he would be undefeatable. "My dear, don't you think you're _stating the obvious_ here?" he taunted, making me snarl.

Then I felt a wing on me, and without thinking I jolted my head up, and I looked into Blu's eyes. They were full of concern for me, that I had experienced such an emotional breakdown. Blu… I had only met him for three days- three days, and he proclaimed that he loved me. I had suspected that to be only surface-deep, premature infatuation that was almost rootless, vulnerable to the breath of the wind. Now, I desperately needed him to protect me, and even after all we had been through… he still stood by me, not abandoning me or loathing me… he loved me. It's something you can't come to terms with, but have to in the long run.

Blu… when I looked at him it was a strange feeling. The way he made me feel… it was extraordinary. All of those grudges and hatred that I had previously harboured, they… they all vanished in the wind, and they were replaced with a new feeling. It was a type of glowing warmth that filled my heart, that threw away all the burdens and sorrow I held, and gave me strength and comfort. It gave me hope, no matter how irrational, and that nothing could ever make his love waver. It was irrational, his love, that he should crave my company and my happiness, that he should feel so ecstatic just by being next to me, and feel so painfully concerned just by seeing me shriek in agony. The fact is, I reciprocated all of this; it's just that it hadn't happened to Blu just yet. But I knew one thing.

I love Blu.

There was a glint of determination in his eyes, though, and it told me that he would be there to guard me, to aid me when I needed it. And suddenly, even though it was only mere minutes from when I wailed sorrowfully, a new strength filled me- love could do that, to instantaneously wash away all the grief in your heart and replace it with determination. It was only because of one thing, and that was Blu's presence.

"Don't be afraid, Jewel," Blu assured, and suddenly that emotion got eradicated. I knew that this was the climax of it all, the place where everything ends, when one side has to lose while the other emerges victorious. "I won't fear," I answered. "Not when you're with me."

Before I could take a glimpse of Blu's reaction, I heard Nigel laugh sinisterly, a malicious cacophony mixed with a crazed instability. Even without him saying, I knew what he desired to inflict. He wanted to kill us- just the furious and oppressed, glazed look in his eyes was enough to infer from. He didn't want to obey his master's commands or be withheld from his own emotions. He wanted to fight and emerge triumphant over two carcasses. And he would stop at nothing to accomplish that, too.

With one smirk, he dived in for the kill, one moment with his wings open and about to take off, and the next right over at us, already lunged for Blu's throat, his talons grappling and squeezing oxygen out of it. Naturally Blu's face twisted in agony, turning blue, even, and he squawked in pleading. Naturally an urgency to do something overpowered me, especially when he was a mere foot away from me, and I attempted to knock him off from Blu- if he continued to that for too long, he would strangle Blu to death- but to no avail. His talons were as if they had roots entangled in the ground, tightening around Blu's neck to suffocate him…

Then with one powerful jerk, still grasping Blu's neck, he raised his talon from the ground for one brief instant before slamming it back down on a different position, pulling me with him. This time he placed Blu's neck on the edge of the hatch, where if he made one push forward, he would push Blu –and me, chained to him- over to our watery graves.

But because of the sheer force of which he jerked Blu, it sent my flying _over_ the edge, with the chain thankfully keeping me attached to Blu… though I knew that we were checkmated. What was the use? The moment Nigel took over and controlled everything, with his immense strength and ability to search and _destroy_… we were no match for him. Life is Darwinist- where the fittest survive, no matter how little justice or holiness is in their hearts, and the weakest are overthrown despite all good intentions, wiped off from the face of the earth. Everything had to be perfect for the real world.

"Jewel!" Blu yelled hoarsely, but I couldn't see him. Under me was a glossy, black liquid that threatened to swallow me up if I fell into it, and fear clenched my heart. My vocal chords tried to yell in terror, but my throat felt blocked, rendering me speechless…

"You see this, my feathered freaks?" Nigel yelled over the howling wind, taunting us. I could imagine, plastered on his face, a grin of insanity. "This is the _REAL WORLD!_ This is how it _ALL ENDS!_ This is where you all _DIE!_"

The real world… the real world was manipulative, and it could choose to reward one or curse one. And the worst part was that one was totally helpless in such a situation. No matter how you looked at the real world, the end would always remain the same- death. It's only a matter of time before you close your eyes for the final time, before you exhale your final breath, your heart pumps for the last time. The real world was unfair- you could lose everything you love and treasure, your emotions completely toppled, every part of you ripped to shreds and nobody would miss you. Equality never matters much in the real world, or the fact that people love you, or that whatever it did to you, it would cause the whole world to end. In the real world, you die.

I clamped my eyes shut- I knew that this was how it all ends, where we all die, where I would never see the sun rise or hear Blu tell me he loved me. I could only hear the wind screaming in my ears, and all I could see was the darkness of my eyelids' interior as I braced myself for death to befall me, for me to fade into the eternal darkness…

But then I felt myself being flung back into the plane, where Nigel jammed Blu's neck back into the center of the plane floor again. There was a look of disgust in his face, his mouth twisted in a scowl as he looked on at Blu's helpless and vulnerable face. "You don't deserve to die like that," Nigel said with every word contemptible and laced with rage. "You deserve to die _slowly_" –he tightened his grip around Blu's neck, forcing a squawk of pain out of him- "and _painfully_, you little _prick_." Nigel's face jerked forward closer to Blu, to enforce every word he said and deepen the pain of every moment under the binding talon and the lack of oxygen… Blu cringed in pain; his throat emitting violent coughs frequently…

I knew that we were going to lose, and it was no point prolonging this fight anymore… yet when I saw Blu like that, it hurt me deeply, driving a spear into my soul. To watch him die… it would be absolutely torturous and unbearable, to see the one bird who loved me disappear from the face of this earth, to witness the eradication of your source of happiness and joy, to see your refuge and your place for comfort die, die right in front of your eyes. Life told me it was all over, but love told me that I had to do something, as I let my emotions take control, to at least give us a fighting chance.

So I tried to shove Nigel away from Blu, but it was one swoop of the wing- one hard slap in the face- to send my flying away… and along with me, because of the sheer force, Blu was yanked away from Nigel's grip [though I did not premeditate this], pulled by my flung body. However, because of the impact, we crashed into the perimeter of the plane; an untidy and unstable cage on the pinnacle of a stack of miniature wire prisons lying against the wall rattled before it plummeted from above, where gravity would drag it down to crush whatever was in its path. In this case, it was me, and suddenly everything begun to move in slow motion.

Blu noticed this, as well, and he inhaled deeply and sharply, his pupils shrunk into his eyeballs. "Jewel!" he exclaimed, seeing I was frozen with shock and rooted to the floor, stupidly staring at my befalling doom without doing anything to prevent it. He made one jerk of a push that forced me to move away from him, but because of the chain, dragged him in the direction he pushed me and fate strategically placing him upon the gigantic, obvious yet virtual red X imprinted on it where the cage fell upon him with a metallic clang.

I thought I had shouted loudly when Fernando died; now I hollered with all my lungs' capacity, until my throat was hoarse and I could feel the vibration of my vocal chords in my ears. "BLU!" The cry was blood-curling, as I rushed by his side, where the cage had bounced off the other side. His eyes were slits now, barely open but the crown of feathers on his head was not stained with crimson, a liquid that would normally scare the living daylights out of me but now urged me to fix it… though I knew I couldn't. I could see my own wings get stained from the profuse bleeding, and I saw Blu's consciousness fading away. I internally kicked myself- why did I have to be so freaking _STUPID?_

"Jewel…" He said weakly, clamping his eyes in agony. My heart almost stopped beating- Blu… he was so weak… and he was going to die. Although obviously, eventually in the real world life would end, no matter how much you remind yourself this or prepare yourself for it, even when you were previously on the edge of it, you could never see someone die. No, scratch that- I could die; it's something I'd gladly take in exchange for following what your emotions drive you to do. But to see the person who loved you die was a whole different issue. It was going to kill me on the inside.

And to my absolute fury, Nigel cackled in another bout of laughter… which served not to demoralise me but to fuel the flame of my anger. I snarled; on his face was a mentally unstable type of happiness, the sadism written all across his face to see his prey weakened… it sickened me to the core, that people in this world would enjoy the misery of other people… the way he laughed evilly and the injustice of the situation… it infuriated me; the rage was overwhelming me.

Suddenly, I felt something rise in me, an invisible force that took over my soul and my mind… it was one that I did not anticipate, one that I had thought I had not possessed, one that caught me by surprise. It was pure anger, sheer, seething rage that overtook my senses, and made me lose control of everything. It overthrew all logic that my mind had harboured, and all the barriers I set up to prevent emotion from dominating completely. But like I said, you never are prepared enough.

I don't know how it happened, but I lunge for Nigel's throat, and even though I tell myself I am fatigued, I feel empowered by a new strength- vengeance, and it gives me strength. I forget everything and my priority right now is to eradicate the source of true evil, and not just in the fairy-tale evil but malicious at its finest, and that is to kill Nigel. And once I made up my mind, there was no stopping it.

A new power, that potent physical strength that I never knew I had, considering that females are stereotypically stronger than males, filled me and, without any warning and to my and Nigel's surprise, I managed to successfully pin him on the opposite side of the plane's perimeter, and even more surprisingly, I was airborne, flapping my wings to stay in the air with Blu dangling below me. Nigel initially put up a fight, his face twisted in white-hot fury and flapping his wings to attempt to fling me off, but my grip was strong enough to prevent Nigel from writhing away… while my expression remained furious at my love's injury.

Suddenly all the rage in Nigel's face melted away to reveal something else- shock, fear, vulnerability, defeat. It was one that villains would never show, one that nobody wants to feel, one that would people would conceal lest they give their enemies the motivating spirit to continue going and finish them off, the fuel to the fire. Nobody would ever feel like this unless they knew they were truly trapped, completely defeated, nowhere else to run before the battle would end for them. It was like chess- you could do all you can to bring down your opponents' pieces, but eventually something would trigger a checkmate, to the surprise of everybody who stereotyped upon it.

Rendered speechless, and seeing it would last that way unless I did something about it, I tightened my grip around him, until he choked for breath and his face started to turn blue, but I didn't stop increasing the taut of the grip. All that I could think of was Blu, and the way he taunted him, and the cage that fell upon him… I was only retaliating. I was only retaliating out of love for Blu, because I had to be there to protect him, to ensure he would survive instead of being killed mercilessly by someone more powerful that you are. Only the people who possessed true hatred, the people who hated people just for the joy of seeing their grief, deserve such harshness of life…

But the face is, life is always harsh to the victimized, not the victimizer.

The door bursts open to reveal the leader smuggler, and from the angle of his face away from the door, he hadn't witnessed much. However, what greeted him was a sight that horrified him- all of his precious birds, sans the two Spix's Macaws, had all been released by an ignorant yet brave but now dead Brazilian teenager, one of the Spix's Macaws with a limp body and the other having his prized possession, the cocky cock of a cockatoo, pinned down by the throat against the wall, with a crazed, furious, truly look of revenge.

"_Idiot!" _He exclaimed, and catching me off guard, he swiped me off with immense force away from the cockatoo, like garbage tossed aside by a force too powerful to control. And with one smack from the powerful human hand, with everything to lose yet with nothing left, and everything went blank. It was so abrupt, a blink's time span for my near victory, having emerged from the rubble of my heart, for something to interfere and subsequently destroy everything you did, everything that occurred before it, everything that you could have done, everything that you could have lived for… gone. Gone forever, smacked down by the fly swat of fate.

I didn't even know what hit me… I couldn't even stay to see what would happen next, or to see who would win. It wasn't a checkmate- in chess the checkmate was when the king would be eaten if it stayed still or moved away. It was, in actuality, a stalemate, where the king was cornered yet if it remained perfectly still, it would not be eaten, yet the eight squares around him held danger. It only had to remain stagnant, never changing or surrendering to the enemy and succumb to the losing pressure… a stalemate. It meant a draw, but no one ever thought that those who threat the king… they could be eaten. Eaten up by other traps fate laid on the chessboard…

All I could know of was that the battle was over, and that I had lost consciousness when the leader smuggler thwacked me, with the injured bird who loved me chained to my foot as I fell into the black glass of the ocean that awaited me and my love.

And there we'd die, cruelly at fate's hands, yet romantically in love's eyes.

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This is what heaven looks like- it's not a place where floors are fluffy clouds or with angels trumpeting away with a gargantuan deity on a throne staring at you. I could tell it wasn't a flaming, raging fireplace of doom where torture was laid at every corner of the place, but instead this is what heaven looks like- it's a sandy shore with a lovely sunrise, its reddish-orange hue painted onto the clouds as they drifted past, and the sector of the rising golden sphere peeking over the horizon. On the opposite of the shore is a clear, azure-tinted ocean that reflected the sun's rays back into my eyes, glittering like a huge diamond sheet on the sand.

I knew I had died. There was no mistaking it- we were right above a huge stretch of the sea, and I had drowned to death when I fainted. Was there a need for further explanation? One moment you'd feel like you'd almost make it, you'd almost defeated the enemy, and you're a millimetre away from that taste of victory, and then life decides to turn the tables on you, knocking you out when you'd least expect it, and then while you're asleep and not able to resist or move, it silences you forever.

Death is always portrayed as a romantic notion, where Jesus died on the cross to save the world from their sins, where the hero would sacrifice himself to save the damsel-in-distress, where somebody dies for the purpose and the sake of loving somebody else. But when you die due to an unexpected circumstance, like a heart attack that takes away from you in one swipe, or from the cruel ways of the world, like when all those victims of natural disasters… how is death even worth it? It's the end that nobody wants to face, yet forced to accept… who would want to face such a fate? To die for absolutely nothing… how do we even feel like we did anything, anyway?

Heaven, however, is beautiful. It's a permanent home where you could do anything you wanted, free from the chains of the real world, free from the pain or sorrow that existed in reality, free of all the negative emotions that bound us down… in Heaven, there was only one emotion- love. Everybody would love you and treat you like his own, protecting you, always keeping you filled to the brim with happiness, with the contentment of knowing you are worth something in another's eyes. To me, of course, the most prominent person that possessed all these qualities was Blu. He had saved me countless times, and his presence alone, the way he wanted me to be happy and wanted to ensure that I was loved… that was all I needed- love. Love, love, love…

My eyes roam around for my love, and eventually I find him right next to me, sleeping and watching over me like a guardian angel, lying on the floor motionless and dreaming peaceful dreams.

"Blu, wake up," I say, donning a welcoming smile and shaking his body for him to leap up and talk to me, telling me that we had won the battle, even if the enemy was undefeated, we managed to accomplish the goal. In short- bring joy to my heart again.

He does not awake. I remember the first night we spent together- upon that artificially-built structure that was his then-deemed comfort zone, where he slept right next to me, and as a stranger who had a crush on me, could only offer his company. I enjoyed it thoroughly, I remembered that night, to the point where I didn't want to wake up and face reality again. I remember in the morning too, that it had taken a considerable amount of energy to arouse him from his slumber. It would be the same too. "Blu," I mutter again, rocking his body again, this time with more force. This leads to his back- which was turned to me, at first, to roll over, his face that was in the opposite direction to roll over to me.

Accompanied with the jangle of metal, his head slumped inches away from me, where it wore a crown of dried blood and his eyes did not open.

"Blu!" I yell, the decibel level heightening, as I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently. "BLU!" I yell even louder, again. His head bounces about around the neck, but his beautiful chocolate irises do not emerge. Nothing happens.

"Don't play games with me, Blu," I threatened, the rage suddenly pumping in my veins. "Don't fool around with me. Wake up _now_. _Wake up_!" I slam my wing on his chest, hoping it would spring him out of whatever prank he was playing upon me. It felt like punching a wall.

"Blu, don't do this…" My threats were getting weaker, the energy getting sapped from me, and my temporal rage was trashed away. "You told me you love me, remember? Wake up… don't joke… wake up… _WAKE UP!_" I shrieked the last two words out, until my vocal chords snap and my voice comes out hoarse, like a violin played too excessively. Blu makes no response.

By this time I am desperate. I place a talon delicately on his chest, and after a while, I feel absolutely no heartbeat.

Blu was gone.

Gone forever.

Gone.

"No," I muttered, pressing my talon deeper into his chest, pumping it as if it would spring him back to life. "You must live, Blu. You must live. You mustn't die. _YOU MUST LIVE!_ _BLU!_" I shriek his name with enormous auditory intensity, close to his ear to sacrifice his hearing sense, at least, to resurrect him. I continue pumping, with the ridiculous notion that if thrust my claw over and over, it would spark a heartbeat and he would live, leaping up to his feet where he would pull me into his wings. It's a fantasy that we desire to happen, but of course life never gives us what we want.

It was then that it struck me- I wasn't in Heaven. Heaven was a million miles away- I was still entrenched in the real world. It struck me that this… this was the same beach I had fallen over, but this time, I _hadn't_ fallen into the ocean. I had landed on this fine bed of sand, cushioning the impact as we landed and leaving the enemy to escape. Of course this was the real world- why else would I be on a freaking beach, or that Blu's head had bled and we were still chained together, or that now, I felt a spear smash through my diamond heart, sending fragments spray everywhere.

Blu… Blu had been struck by the cage, directly onto him like a large gabble of justice, crushing him and subsequently killing him… and the worst part was, it was all my freaking fault. There were so many factors that pertained to his death; so many that I couldn't count them with the grains of sand on this beach. It had been my fault that he was dragged into this crazy place, dragged on the journey with me, that he fell in love with such an insolent fool, that he had to learn love the hard way, he left me and had to subsequently rescue me from death, that he had to be with me all this while, that I was under that cage and he had to save me _and_ get dragged to take my place.

How in the world is _this_ romantic?

Love… it's such a hateful emotion; irony at its finest. It could motivate you and deter you from doing all the wrong and right things, it could rebel against logic and claim the throne of your thoughts and actions, it could drive you to do the most insane of things. It could tell you that something impossible was worth fighting for, it could chain you to another person and make him suffer for all the mistakes you did, it could tell you that in the real world, life was worth living the fight. You could quote 1 Corinthians 13, like they all do in weddings, for a definition of love but nobody ever notices the one thing about love- you would lay your life down for your friends, even if your life was way more valuable than the jerk and fool of a friend.

Love hurts. People use it so freely that they never really comprehend the true meaning of this quote. What it means it that love has two sides- its stereotypically Cloud-9, heavenly feeling, whereas the other… it was unpleasant. That wasn't all- love warred against logic. Love told you to do what logic told you not to do, to risk everything and do all the stupid things, to do something because you loved it and create massive repercussions, to involve someone you love to take the fall… and he did. He fell _for me_, and that was completely stupid, absurd, and ludicrous. I wasn't worth it. I never was.

Blu… he loved me. He wanted to make sure I saw another day, to ensure that I would wear a smile on my face just with his company and did everything he could for me. He used his life to save mine… how, in this way, is this making me happy? I had been such an idiot- if I had told Blu that I indeed had loved him, and wanted to be with him for the days of my life like he would, he wouldn't consider his life worthless compared to mine, and he had to put his under the hammer… now my soul felt like it had been ripped apart. It was _all my fault_… I couldn't put the blame on anybody but myself. Was… was this what love did? I knew that what Blu did was out of love, to save me and protect me, but what I felt… it was definitely love's effects. Just like how love wanted the significant other to be happy and protected, love wanted to avoid him to be sad, or in grief or pain or suffering or cruelly killed…

And before I knew it, I realised that I was crying, fiery-hot tears flowing down my cheeks, as my mind entwined around the truth- the truth that Blu, the person who loved me and the person I loved back, was dead, gone forever, plucked away from this earth and thrown into another place far, far away. My feet caved in and I slumped myself on Blu's carcass, bawling my eyes out and my tears staining his perfect, cerulean body. All I saw was darkness, and all I could feel was overwhelming sorrow, one that overflowed and drowned my heart, one that had my soul beg for help, and one that took my life and punched a humongous, irreparable cavern that would stay forever. That hole would only be filled with Blu, the bird I loved, but he's dead.

Blu is dead. The very statement brought anger in me. Why did life have to do this to me? It wasn't fair. You look at the Al-Qaeda and Hitler and all the bad people in this world- life lets them inflict horror to the world and terrorize millions, but yet the innocent? The innocent are punished by having everything taken away from them, in one strong draft everything is blown away like dust, or in one stamp of the gabble dreams are pulverized into smithereens. The real world… it was a lovely place, the romanticist would croon, that life was wonderful and that nature would provide everything and you would live beautifully and fulfil your dreams… when all it did was fulfil your nightmares, it killed you unceremoniously and in fact, natures worked against you. Promises of happiness were shattered and sorrow was thrust upon you like the weight of the universe upon your shoulders.

I didn't know how long I cried. I cried, sobbed, wailed, twin streams of saltwater flowing down from my eyes, as I grieved for my loved one, the only who wanted me in this world and provided happiness for me… he was gone for all eternity. I would never be able to see him again or look into his eyes and say 'I love you' or 'You complete me' or 'Why did you have to die for me?' I would never be able to feel the warmth of his presence, or when he embraced me. I would never be able to spend forever with him.

"Why? Why? _WHY?_ Why did you have to _leave_ me?" I yelled. Why did Blu have to leave me like this? I ask. Why did I have to be so _freaking stupid_ to have left him in love, with no reciprocation and having him subject alone to protect me and suffer the real world's harshness… it wasn't fair. It wasn't bloody fair, and I knew that somewhere, the real world was smirking in victory, and it didn't give a crap about what I felt.

Perhaps, I thought, this was some sick trick that my mind was playing on me. Maybe I was only dreaming, or even some _Inception_ crap. Maybe I would just wake up and find a different place, a place where Blu was still living and I could tell him how much I loved him. Or that in Heaven, Blu was somewhere else, and this was only a dummy. Perhaps, even, Blu wasn't dead. Perhaps I had placed my talon too lightly, and had not detected his faint heartbeat of life. Perhaps Blu had managed to stay asleep all this while, and he was only unconscious- his heart may have an erratic rate, too, so the time where I felt for it I couldn't find it. Perhaps Blu was still alive…

…even though I knew that was only a fantasy.

I looked into Blu's face. It used to bring happiness to me, to see him with me and see him love me like I was perfect… when I was not. How many times have you felt like his, when you look into the person you love and find his heart beating for you, and find his eyes the window to his soul, and find that he would protect you forever, like he was your guardian angel? That feeling was now blown away with the win, vanished in some cruel magic trick of life, tearing my heart apart and making my soul incomplete again. What was the point of attaining freedom when you were chained down by the loss of somebody who completed you? Freedom is, in fact, unattainable, a myth, another empty promise of life.

All Blu was rewarded with for his love for me was a crown of blood, and death in the hands of a wire cage. I didn't know what to do, at a loss, a hole in my heart punched. I held him in my wings, as if it would help, as if the warmth of my embrace would ignite the life back in him.

"I love you, Blu," I whispered, my vision still shrouded by the tears that stung my eyes. I hear no response. The words crash upon us like a meteor from the sky, but nothing happens.

I looked into his eyes, and I pressed my beak to his cold, lifeless beak, one that I knew would not kiss me back, not reciprocating the movements of mine. But nevertheless I kissed him with all I had- simply because I had to repay him _somehow_. Even if it's worthless, it had to be something.

I don't know how long I stayed there- the sun had emerged completely from the horizon, yet nobody had seen us, an innocent, dead Spix's Macaw and his love. Did it matter to the real world if we were sad? Did it matter to the real world if someone died, and everybody who loved him would be torn to shreds, spilling tears enough to make the Pacific Ocean and hearts broken so badly that they were like dust- people could step on them and never know?

Love and life could never co-exist. Emotion would tell you to do what logic told you not to do, and vice versa, but honestly, logic was the ultimate victor. Logic would tell you that something is going to go wrong, and therefore it will go wrong. Logic would tell you that you have to be clear-headed, that things impossible won't happen, and things likely to happen will happen. Logical thinking keeps you from wasting your time worrying, or hoping. It prevents disappointment. Imagination, on the other hand, only gets you hyped up over things that will never realistically happen.

I felt under me a carcass, a dead body that would never be sprung back to life. I felt in me a heart that would never be complete again. I felt the real world laughing, cheering in jubilation and victory, and crushing me with immense sorrow, where words would never able to describe it, where happiness evaded me and instead I was stuck in the real world… chained, burdened, constantly given empty promises that would never be achieved.

"Blu… don't leave me... I love you..." I mumbled, my vocal chords already strained, a last effort to resurrect him, but all is futile.

This was the real world, where love was only a fanciful notion, where life was a torture and fantasies never come true. Blu was dead- this was a fact that couldn't be reversed in any way possible.

This is the real world, my friends, where you feel like you could achieve something or you know something is going to happen, even though it is completely absurd, and life decides to turn the tables on you and you're falling down a bottomless abyss.

This is the real world, where promises are hollow, empty, will never be completed. And I am, as well, and would be like this forever.

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><p><strong>Ending Quotes:<strong>

"I am the first person to tell you that I do not understand love. How can you love your new haircut, love your new job, and love your girlfriend all at once? Clearly the word doesn't mean the same thing in different situations, which is why I have never been able to figure it out with logic." ~Jodi Picoult.

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armour, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love." ~Neil Gaiman.

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><p><em>Reviews, as usual, are appreciated very much, thank you.<em>

_And this is where we've come to:_

~THE END~

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